Reviews
Artist:The Penny Black Remedy Album:No One's Fault But Your Own Label:Sandanistas Tracks:10 Website:http://www.thepennyblackremedy.com/
I am always filled with a feeling of trepidation when hearing the debut album of a band that I have seen play live many times. It is the worry that something will get lost in the studio; that dynamism that first draws you to them will be diluted in the quest to produce a sound suitable for listening on radio, ipod or stereo, rather than just on stage.
Six seconds: six seconds was all it needed for me to know that The Penny Black Remedy had not only captured their live sound but, with the addition of horns on 95 Charing Cross Road, they had enhanced it.
The Penny Black Remedy are a diverse bunch: vocalist / songwriter / guitarist Keith M Thomson is from Scotland; vocalist / percussionist Marijana Hajdarhodzic is from Croatia; drummer Wilco van Eijk Dutch and bass player Steve Nelson is from London - where they are currently based. With a hybrid of gypsy, ska and country their style is as varied as their nationalities.
The opening track "95 Charing Cross Road" - also their debut single - is a voyeuristic tale of a police raid on a Soho bordello which joyously fuses reggae with country. "The First Time I Saw Angels" has the rhythms of The Tennessee Two and lyrics of Shel Silverstein, recounting the realisation that, as there were "no wings, no harps, no halo's", the deal done with Death was not quite as it first seemed (he had been sent "straight to hell"). "Hit Hard, Aim Low" is a soulful, funky track about where one should direct the first punch and "Bring Back Brando" tells of an obsession with the star of A Streetcar Named Desire.
No One's Fault But Your Own's final track - "Gypsy Hospital Death March" - is possibly the finest on the album capturing perfectly every thing The Penny Black Remedy stand for. Opening with Hajdarhodzic's passionate vocals, the jaunty trumpet leads into Thomson's breakneck delivery all the while backed by the tight rhythms of Nelson and van Eijk, the song gets quicker and quicker building to the manic, climactic chanting of "I don't want to die, die, die …"
The secret to happiness may well be to dance like no one is watching; after listening to No One's Fault But Your Own, you will dance not caring if you are being watched or not.
If you listen to this album after seeing The Penny Black Remedy live it will not disappoint; if it your first experience of this unique band you will be checking the listings to find out when they are next in town.
John Hawes
"No One's Fault But Your Own" is released on 18 May 09