Brilleaux’s new album

There's nothing better to write about than new local albums.

This week we've got the first review of rhythm and blues proponents Brilleaux's new album, and there's a lot more music on the horizon.

Perhaps most exciting is what's now appearing from second generation Tauranga musicians, scattered round the country (and world) though they may be.

As someone who's watched the music scene here for a while now, I remember some of these upstarts being born and, as little people, being dragged along to their first gigs. To know that they're now making their own music, music that will blow you away, is a wonderful thing.

This week I thought we'd have a brief preview of who's who (If you can't wait, get online, they're all there.)

First up, and furthest away, Paul Garner, son of bluesman Mike, is playing the blues in the UK and touring Europe and elsewhere. His new album is ‘Big Road Blues', a stunning collection of original hi-impact blues.

Unusually, his band is a guitar, organ, and drums trio.

Then there's Oscar Laven, son of Robbie Laven and Marion Arts. Oscar is in Wellington playing sax and many other instruments with a dazzling array of groups, most of whom play something related to jazz. He has albums out with both his main band, The Wellington City Shake ‘Em On Downers (whom many will remember from the Jazz Festival), and gypsy jazz group Black Spider Stomp.

And Dylan Israel, who goes by several names and is the son of singer John Michaelz, also has a debut album primed and ready to go. He's here in Tauranga.

We'll return to all of these soon. Any more new releases out there? Get in touch.

Review: Brilleaux – ‘Pictures Of The Queen'

Brilleaux's last album was a bit of a sideways step, a largely acoustic collection tracing the band's roots through both blues and obscure English songs from the 1960s and 1970s.

Since then the band have returned to the UK for a second time, once again raising their profile through festival appearances, and ‘Pictures Of The Queen', released in England during that tour, is finally getting its New Zealand release.

And it's a return to the full-throttle British rhythm and blues that Brilleaux made their name with, 10 new songs from singer/harmonica player Graham Clark and a couple of covers. Some of the songs have been kicking around for a while now and will
be familiar to fans from live shows or even previous live albums, but to have them all assembled in one place again reinforces how much the quality of their material raises Brilleaux above similarly styled bands.

Perhaps fittingly the album finds Graham very much in English mode, revelling in his working class London roots with snappy humorous slices of cockney rock exemplified by the title track (slang for bank notes) with its ‘Lust For Life' Bo Diddley bass groove, ‘Jack The Lad', and closer ‘She's Got The Ump'.

Of course it helps to have a great band in the first place: Brilleaux are effortlessly tough and tight these days, from Brian Franks' elaborately muscular bass lines and Beano Gilpin's spot-on drumming to the classic no-nonsense guitar of Bruce Rolands.

Of special note is the album's one acoustic moment, a brief drop in tempo for ‘Hand Me Downs', a thoughtful song about blues roots featuring some lovely mandolin from Bruce.

It's an atypical moment and shows how assured and confident Brilleaux
have become. A fine album, good-looking too, from a band which has gone from strength to strength.

For CDs or more information about the album launch go to www.brilleaux.co.nz


The Weekend Sun has two copies of Brilleaux's new CD to give away to lucky readers who can tell us where the album was released prior to New Zealand?

Enter online at www.sunlive.co.nz under the competitions section.


Entries must be received before Wednesday, October 14.


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