From the
marshlands of the Thames Delta comes the fifth album from Southend on Sea’s
Lucky Strikes. The Motion And The Moving On is the band’s most personal album to
date, covering everything from dead-end jobs and missing home to overwhelming
grief and mental turmoil. But ultimately this is an album about salvation through
music. That life on the road, with your brothers, can save your soul.
It was
recorded at Reservoir Studios in north London with producer and engineer Chris
Clarke from Danny and The Champions Of The World and features long-time Lucky Strikes
collaborator Toby Shaer on fiddle, flute and saxophone.
Formed in
2006, the Lucky Strikes have released four critically-acclaimed albums
encompassing garage blues, spaghetti western psych and Celtic folk. Their
self-titled debut was recorded warts and all in their hometown of Southend -
rough and maybe not quite ready, it was full of the piss, spit and aggression
of youth. This was followed by The
Chronicles Of Solomon Quick in 2009. A patchwork narrative centred on the
man who killed Delta blues pioneer Robert Johnson. The record saw the band move
from the monochrome palette of their debut to a more widescreen vison of
Americana. Piano, strings and pedal steel wove together to reveal a
compelling musical tale.
Gabriel, Forgive My 22 Sins came next in 2011 and built on
the vast Americana of its predecessor. Partly inspired by Nelson Algren’s Man With the Golden Arm, it tells the
story of Frankie Valentinez, a boxer who took a bribe to throw a fight and then
descended into madness. For 2013’s Exile And
The Sea, the band found inspiration closer to home. From the archives of
their local newspaper offices, they retold stories of the carnival queens,
roughnecks and scoundrels of Estuary folklore. The album was voted one of the
best of the year by Vive Le Rock
magazine.
The Lucky
Strikes are fronted by MG Boulter, a sometime member of the Simone Felice Group,
Emily Portman’s Coracle Band and an accomplished solo artist. He’s joined by
Will Bray on drums, Paul Ambrose on bass, and Dave Giles on piano and
accordion.
Release date: 30 September, Harbour Song Records
Release date: 30 September, Harbour Song Records
The Motion And The Moving On will be preceded by a
single/video ‘War Drums’ in early September.
“Simply
too good to ignore. You heard it here first” R2 magazine
“Like The
Waterboys on trucker pills” Q magazine
“Dark and
dirty Americana to chill your soul” Classic Rock magazine
“The
songwriting sensibilities of Ray Davies… informed by Kevin Coyne” Americana-UK
“They're
the best thing to come out of Southend since Rossi's ice-cream.” ***** Morning
Star
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