Daintees
Album: Haunted Highway
Label: Barbaraville
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.daintees.co.uk

If homemade, freshly-baked bread could sing, it would have a voice like Martin Stephenson. He is warm glow of Northern brass bands made manifest in human form. Now into his fourth decade of making music and with almost 30 albums to his name (either solo or with The Daintees), although the peak of his commercial success was a three week album chart appearance in 1990 when Salutation Road reached the dizzy heights of #35, he remains a much loved cult figure with a hugely loyal following, especially in his native north east.

Originally given a soft release back in February, this features the band's most compact line up, a family affair consisting of just Stephenson, sister Kate on drums and her husband John Steel playing guitars bass and piano, although Stuart Macleod does add some extra acoustic guitar. It's everything you would want from an MS album, opening with the catchy folksy northern 'Stanstead Ground' on with its bluesy guitar about leaving his Scottish mountains home to catch a plane to his other half, Helen McCookerybook (with whom he recorded the more restrained original version on their 'Hamilton Square' duo album) and sliding into the solo acoustic 'Wishing Stone', throwing up thoughts of Guthrie and Rambling Jack Elliott.

'Mahina' is the first of two instrumentals, both it and the twangier 'Johnny Red' suggesting what might have resulted had Hank Marvin or Duane Eddy scored a Sergio Leone western. Indeed, there's a strong country streak running through the album, 'Hobo Trains' riding the Cash express with yet more twanged guitar, whoops and whistles and a clattering drum solo from Kate while, Alex Smith on backing vocals, the title track, cowboy campfire kissing cousin to Hank's own 'Lost Highway' that you might imagine being sung by Jim Reeves or Gene Autry.

It's there too on the uptempo love song 'Black Eyed Rose', the guitar work tinged with a touch of rockabilly rumble and a femme fatale lyric worthy of Marty Robbins while jaunty leg-slapper 'Backhouse Tipping' nods to the Western Swing tradition. But, just to keep you on your toes, the rhythm-tight 'God's Plan' has a rockier charge in the driving drums and fierce electric guitar and 'Let Your True Love Show 'is built around a soft dub reggae lilt that might even impress Ali Campbell.

Closing up shop with the laidback, subtly gospel-tinted five minute croon of 'Ride' with its gentle piano coda, where he sings up a comforting end of the journey afterlife vision of love and peace, forever young and free from the world's trials. It's that sort of album, granary wholemeal through and through.

Mike Davies