This album starts with a climax and manages to climb from there to one high point after another.
Redfern is a slide guitarist working in a hard rock genre and this album kicks ass in a way you really wouldn’t expect.
His fuzzed slide is driven by drummer Darby Todd (The Darkness, Robben Ford, Paul Gilbert), bassist Dave Marks (Albert Lee, Carl Palmer, Wishbone Ash) and the band is completed by Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, legendary rocker from Guns ‘n’ Roses & Sons of Apollo. The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios in North Wales.
What I love about the album is its complete refusal to compromise. It is powerful, sweaty and tight as a drum skin. Redfern’s slide is a constant force and his growled vocals have a punk edge that is missing from so many bands today. Not to say that he has no variation, on the contrary he has a few ballads here that are cutting and emotional and they stand beside the rockers perfectly. Redfern plays a wide selection of axes including a 1920’s Resonator and his ability on each creates different sounds and feelings – no one could describe him as one dimensional.
The opening blast ‘One Way Ticket’ sets the scene with wailing slide aver a massive drumbeat and howled vocals, the whole thing exploding out of the speakers followed by ‘Love and War’, slower but even more powerful, polyrhythmic and featuring two excellent solos. ‘On Fire’ is as its name suggests – dark smoky and hot.
‘Ghosts’ was released as a single and shows a different side of Mr Redfern with a countryish rhythm, acoustic slide and really melodic vocals. Once again a terrific slide solo really nails it.
The other single ‘Waiting For Your Love’ is probably my favourite from the album – dense, vaulting sound, swamp rock meets Detroit and a great closer for the album.
Troy Redfern is one of the country’s best players and writers and the album is a blast from start to finish.
