Just as an aside before I kick off this weekend's bunch of reviews and spacerock news, here's a cheery wave and "Hello" to the Japanese spammer who is regularly hitting one of the archive posts on the blog. Umm, sorry mate, not buying - whatever the heck it is that you are trying to sell...It's been a busy week of interviews and the like, kicking off with a conversation last Sunday morning with Pete from Sendelica, who I've enthused about a few times on this blog and in print and that'll be posted here sometime over this weekend with the appropriate links to their free to download EP which aptly demonstrates the multiple facets to their music, in advance of their next album which should be appearing in the Spring. Mind you, nice sunny day down here in Cornwall and perhaps Spring is actually on the way already - so scratch that and let's say that we'll expect the new Sendelica sometime in the next few months. I also had the great opportunity of talking to one of the good guys of the music scene yesterday when I interviewed Ian McNabb about his wonderful new solo album, Great Things. Ian's a fascinating interview subject, very easy going and chatty and although his new CD is far removed from this blog's usual subject matter, if you've encountered his work before you'll love this even though it's a bit of a departure from his usual style. Perhaps I was a bit gushy as regards to this record when I spoke to him, but it was from the heart anyway... a bit like today, when I was out shopping in Sainsburys with the family and spotted my old English teacher from 1978/79 and, having probably not spoken to him in some thirty years, took the opportunity to approach him and tell him what a great teacher he had been and how influential on my wanting to be a writer he'd been. To my delight, he did remember my name and seemed thrilled to have been told how one of his long ago pupils appreciated what he'd imparted all those years back.
Anyway, none of that has anything to do with this entry but as my own blog rests in cyberspace neglected and unposted to in a couple of years it's useful to put down some things here from time to time!
Rockburn, who hail from Bellshill in Scotland have really got the press pack thing sorted (see my point on this in a previous post!) and sent over a two-track CD, a couple of photos, a biography and a selection of review quotes. That's what I call organisation - good stuff! As are the two tracks in question: 'Night On Fire' and 'Wishing Well'. Now, both of these are, again, somewhat outside of the original stomping ground of this blog, but actually I'm really happy that it's become less about a narrow framework of genre and is now a more wideranging and expansive collection of reviews and interviews - and that I get to hear a lot of stuff that might not have otherwise got onto my radar. So that's where I am with these songs, which are
essentially no nonsense classic rock numbers that are blessed with great hooks, booming drums, grinding guitars and upfront vocals.
What they seem to be is one of those well-kept secrets that make you feel like they must have a dedicated core audience who relish in following them for just an old-fashioned damned good night out, since what I'm hearing here is so completely made for playing in the live environment with the beer flowing and the girls looking hot. That's very unreconstructed of me to say, but Rockburn own their share of what's missing in rock these days and that's the ability to put across simple but infectious hard rock 'n' roll and more power to their elbow for doing it.
In fact, they suggest that what they do is actually "born out of the frustration of seeing a lack of bands having the balls to play 'all out' rock 'n' roll," and that does make you wonder where all that passion and energy has disappeared, really. Rockburn, though, seem to be making real headway, with 'Night On Fire' being chosen by Celtic FC to be played at their home games, win Rock Radio's 'future classics' competition on 96.3FM and recently working through recording sessions at Lanarkshire's Foundry Music Lab with producers Sandy Jones and Graeme Duffin and just working their nuts off in the live environment at home and in Europe. They've got the sound and the ambition to do well.
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