Vintage Trouble -‘The Bomb Shelter Sessions.’ (Vintage Trouble)

Don’t let the album cover fool you.

Desopite the front cover being shot in North London(I know, ‘cos I grew up there before i heeded the call of the Celtic fringe), Vintage Trouble are actually from LA.

Listening to this album, it’s clear that there influences are, by and large, classic American acts, and influences that stretch back to the 50s and 60s. This is not an album that aims to innovate but it succeeds in entertaining. It’s self-consciously raw rock’n’ soul, soul in the sense of james Brown or Otis Redding, if they’d ended up fronting the MC5 or the Stooges.

While it won’t win awards for originality, this is to miss the point. There is a spirit, right the way through this album from opener ‘Blues Hand Me Down’ to the end, that suggests Ty Taylor and his merry men are having a fantastic time. It won’t change your world but it’s definitely worth a listen. I suspect their real strength will be live…

***

The Bomb Shelter Sessions is out now.