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Confession time. I've had You Know That Summers Comin' for quite a while and haven't found the time to write anything about it. Apologies to Taylor Hollingsworth (guitar), John Seay (bass) and Chris Zieler (drums). That's not to say the CD hasn't had plenty of plays. Far from it: this is the kind of music you can throw on as you're chasing around, trying to work out how you should be spending your day, or your life.
Take the Money starts things off with a chiming guitar and solid drum beat before Taylor's rather high voice cuts in. It's a great start to this 40-minute disc and, although the vocals sound a bit compressed on this track, the idea of a rocking blues band meeting Mercury Rev or The Flaming Lips is quite appealing. We get a key change and a few more choruses, but the guitar riff doesn't change much. Why should it? So, no complaints here.
Summers Comin' is effectively the title track of the CD, but it's a bit weak. There's little to relieve the vocals and, while it's a cheerful enough little tune, it's also a surprising choice for the second/title track. In contrast, Whole Lotta Shakin is full-on rock song, with an unsurprising nod to Led Zeppelin. Sadly it doesn't seem to go anywhere much, though there are some great drumming and guitar after about 90 seconds.
Dolly Dee is also an upbeat rocker, with Taylor doing his best Mick Jagger whine, circa Aftermath. Underpinned by a filthy, grinding rhythm track, this has Taylor's guitar jangling away on top, until a solo cuts through at about 2 minutes 20 seconds. There is a hint of irony, of course. I mean that we are rather nearer 2006
than 1966. But there's even more irony in Bible Belt Stomp. Expecting a seven-minute Led Zeppelin-style blue extravaganza? Well, no. It's a rocking little 1:18 bluesy instrumental which manages to pack in a tempo switch at about 50 seconds.
It Don't Come Easy features a thrumming bass or guitar sound which, coupled with something that I imagine is a shaken percussive instrument, gives the feeling of being out in the heat. Still, there isn't much more to report on this two minute track which, like Bible Belt Stomp, feels like it could do with a bit more work. Cottondale Misery feels more like the finished article, however, bringing in some reverbed guitar, a nice refrain and some brisk drumming. This one weighs in at an impressive 5:20, fading out with echoed vocals, and making a good contrast to the thrust of You Just Wanna Be Alone. On this one, Taylor's voice is the same as ever, but the bass seems to be louder in the mix, powering things along. And Taylor's guitar break is a nice one. This song would be great to play in the car.
The final track, You're Lost, starts with mucho macho heavy metal guitar. It then drops back a gear to that blues rhythm to which we've grown accustomed. In fact, it almost sounds like Oasis in places. And, er, that's it for You Know That Summers Comin' really. Of course, there are a couple of raunchy guitar breaks that I could mention, but this isn't really a disc which stands up to much analysis.
Oh yes, there's a hidden track which features Taylor doing a bit more singing instead of whining, which could perhaps be the way to go. Still, I can imagine Taylor and the boys go down a storm live. And perhaps they've developed their sound a bit since they went into the studio.
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