Review kindly supplied by Nigel Foster Images by Ken Jackson.
I have had a day full of so much to with the music that has shaped me and inspired me in the company of two amazing friends that now make an annual pilgrimage from America to immerse themselves in our music scene. Steve and Selina plan their trip to ensure they get to at least one gig at this special club and tonight they joined many of us there to celebrate the release of Burning Rope’s new and second album Dissolution. The quartet played the album in its entirety and I think I speak for all present when I say; ‘gentlemen you should be so pleased at what you have created.
That was the second set and followed a set where they performed a large slice of the debut album. As I was driving home the thought that developed in my mind is that as individuals and as a band the sheer musicality of Paul Long, Alex Voysey, Adam Pyke and Mitchell Weaving is positively outstanding. Burning Rope took the stage, assumed their positions and fired off a double shot of heavy blues rock in the shape of Have Mercy On The Criminal and Now More Than Ever. Both were multi layered, structured on pacey grooves, bold Hammond stabs and searing riffs and a searching guitar solo. Something’s Got To Change (Part 1) was introduced by Paul as ‘progressive blues,’ I don’t think that has ever been claimed as a sub genre of music but it is the perfect label for this song as thick deep drum and bass patterns eased out from Mitchell and Adam laying under Paul’s strident keystrokes both of which bled into the incisive fretwork from Alex.
Adam then took on lead vocals and led the band through a bluesy laid back cover of Soft Cell’s dancefloor filler Tainted Love. He and Mitchell threw out a thick set of rhythms creating a platform for Paul and Alex to add the textures. Paul then introduced the widescreen Landslide explaining that the personal lyrics capture the challenge he had watching Matt’s health falter. Adam and Mitchell were perfectly in-step and Alex created an expressive note laden solo that tone wise had me thinking of prime time Gary Moore. The throbbing blues rocker Rise Up followed straight on and it was our chance to join the fray with a touch of communal singing. Throbbing blues rocker aptly describes Burning Rope’s interpretation of Joe Bonamassa’s Blue And Evil. A heavy trench deep groove underpinned Alex and Paul’s deeper harder riffing and Alex dug deep for a howl of a vocal.
The slow blues sprawl of Somebody Loan Me A Dime closed the set on a wave of stretched complex sounds and was a prime example of the collective musicality evident in the quartet. Having now heard Dissolution for the first time and live my first impression is that it is heavier and deeper than the debut album. As with the first set the band fired off a double shot salvo of Waste and Just Leave. Drum and bass heavy pulses pushed on hard riffs and Wah Wah pedal distortion that called on Adam to dig deep for the lead vocals.
Second time Around and Flow had an almost funk feel to them starting from the dialled in grooves of Mitchell and Adam to the plunging stark Hammond from Paul and the strings crashes from Alex framing the lead voices. Not Guiltys coda was that of a free flowing bright spacious piece of music with the quartet just stretching out individually and collectively as this ‘innocent’ song gave way to the brooding hard and heavy Houdini. Paul’s voice had to rise above the drum and bass beats and his own keyboard forays and the injections of power riffs and taut solo from Alex with more slabs of screaming Wah Wah pedal. Nothing could have prepared us for what unfolded next. What did unfold was the sprawling and epic soundscapes of Sad Like Sinatra. My best description as the song stretched out over 10 minutes was that of a song in 3cseparate musical movements from the gentle innocence of the drum, bass and vocal pitch from Adam to the blues rock power of the middle section and then part 3 where Alex went to that special place guitarists go to when they create emotionally charged and stunning solos that gave as much soul as a vocal.
A standing ovation was a given and Burning Rope signed off in style with a totally unique version of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. Adam impressing once again with his assured and distinctive voice. The second ovation was totally deserved and hopefully evidenced the band are developing all the time. It is a measure of the respect in which the club is held that so many artists want their album launches held there. That is all down to the passion and sheer hard work that Richard and Rosalind put in every week.
Review by Nigel Foster
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