Someone who could never be accused of sitting around waiting to get bored, Ginger Wildheart has just released his new album “Albion” (31st March 2014, via Round Records). “Albion” was recorded in Wales throughout the summer of 2013 and was recorded as a “band” project. The album perfectly showcases why Ginger is one of the UK’s best loved and longstanding songwriters with songs as diverse, infectious and compelling as “Creepers”, “The Order Of the Dog” and “Grow A Pair”.
The 6 piece band having played with Ginger throughout 2012 and 2013 all over the world, including European tours with Slash and The Darkness. The Ginger Wildheart Band consists of:
Ginger Wildheart – Vocals/Guitar
Victoria Liedtke – Vocals (Hey! Hello!)
Dean “Denzel” Pearson – Drums (Losers/Young Legionnaire)
Rich Jones – Guitar/Vocals (ex Amen/Black Halos)
Chris Catalyst – Guitar/Vocals (Eureka Machines)
Random Jon Poole – Bass/Vocals (Cardiacs/The Wildhearts)
Bryan Scary – Keys/Strings/Vocals (From NYC’s Evil Arrows/Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears)
Once again, making full use of the Pledge funding model, Ginger releases his 7th album in just 2 years!
Track List:
1. Drive
– a tempo shifting, po-rock tune that sets the scene highlighting the catchy elements of Ginger’s own special writing style.
2. Cambria – Right … with the growl of thrash metal vocals to start, suddenly the more pop tinged tones of Victoria appear. A right old mix of styles with which Ginger is clearly trying to keep us all on our toes! My initial reaction to the beginning was “Oh ‘eck” but he’s a clever wee sod … clever boy, Ginger!
3. Grow A Pair – coming on like a Blondie song on performance enhancing drugs, catchier than the common cold
4. Burn This City Down – almost proggy in it’s arrangment, but like pretty much everything on here it;s not straight forward. Vocals remind me of another band … my initial thought was the Beach Boys but I’m just not sure.
5. The Order Of The Dog – more psych weirdness that is then blended with pop vocals over a prog back beat/time signature. Sounds odd? Not a bit of it. Sheer bliss – even the harp! What a chorus too.
6. Body Parts – first single and video release. Like early 80s new wave/power pop, the bastard offspring of “My Sharona” and “Stacey’s Mom” …. like the distant cousin nobody talks about, but whose naughtiness we are all not so secretly proud of.
7. The Beat Goes On (Caledonia) – elements of Bay City tartan tinged pop? Well this is Ginger so not as simple is it? Lyrically darker than the arrangement suggests … but isn’t that always the case with Mr Wildheart?
8. After All You Said About Cowboys – slower to start, is that a big dollop of Beatles-esque loveliness/with a hint of ELO’s “Wild West Hero”. Balladic and somehow much darker than it appears on a superficial level
9. Creepers – again highlighting the nice vocal play-off between Ginger and Victoria Liedtke.
10. Albion – Title track saved for last. Brave or foolish? Oh come on, this is Ginger – when was he ever going to play by the rules?
10 tracks and a running time of 52 minutes – harmonic bliss like only Ginger can write, but this isn’t reality show, throw away pop. This is a thoughtful, well structured collection of songs from a man who clearly wants to get his work out quickly so that he loses nothing special. Seven albums in 2 years? This sounds like something constructed over a period of many months – genius is a word bandied around too much but Ginger is clearly a musical genius. A modern day Beethoven or Mozart? You decide
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