| CD REVIEW Hellbilly Boys |
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Band : Hellbilly Boys I've no clear picture of when this Stockholm based Country flavoured Rockabilly act actually started (because the info is simply lacking), but I know that the idea for a new band started in the mind of singer/ rhythm guitar player Larry Häkansson (who started out in punk Rock act Silvia Kids before switching to Rude Boy and Von Hinten. He then eventually became the rhythm guitarist of legendary Southern Rock act Rebelene who released the In The Middle Of Nowhere album in 1993. Currently he also plays in Southern Rock band Voodoo Mansion). A good old friend of his by the name of Skidi (actual name Kari Nieminen) still had a drum set in the attic (which he'd played a very long time ago, and that never in an active band), and was willing to follow Larry in his musical idea for a retro flavoured Rock 'n' Roll act with a twang. A certain part of the musical vision cried out for an upstanding bass player, when out of the blue the duo meets up with Backis (Stefan Backlund, who'd started out as a guitarist for party band Ass-Grass, went over to Rockabilly act The Toejammers, and later joined Crazy Snakes, still as guitarist). Things now somewhat in place, Larry asked an other old friend by the name of Inge (Norlin, stems from the same era as the aforementioned, and has played in too many bands to name) to join the band and enrich its tunes with lead play on his vintage Gretch guitar. As far as I can gather, the foursome has at least been active since December 2005 (because that's when the oldest entry in the news section of the band's website hellbillyboys.com dates from). Slowly but certainly, the guys started making themselves a name in their hometown, then began playing abroad in the rest of Scandinavia, and by January 2007 fans (who'd started dubbing the band's music "High Gain Rockabilly") were asking the band when they could expect a debut album. With a lot of enthousiasm, Larry announced that the band would enter a studio in April of that same year, but things didn't quite turn out the way they'd liked, because Backis became unavailable for a while (reason not mentioned). To fulfill the band's live obligations, a temporary replacement was found in Bcupp & The Fillups's Jaska (from Helsinki). By late May Backis was back, and by October Larry was able to tell people that recordings for the album were in full swing (but by January 2008 the guys were still not done with recording, let alone the mixing). Meantime they were getting into negociations with Killer Cobra Records & High Gear Music for a worldwide distribution of the album. The end result is an album with 12 nice Rock 'n' Roll tunes, most of which have an additional Country flavouring, and in the case of "Me & The Devil" you might even say Western Country. In the case of "Tennessee Whiskey" on the other hand, a certain Pop degree is undeniable, and three songs (including the aforementioned) are enhanced with nice female backing vocals. Although overall a rather calm album and serene, there's a couple of songs which are a bit calmer without falling into ballad-form...and a couple with a little more adrenaline in 'em. Wanna listen to some? Surf to myspace.com/hellbillyboys now, to find mp3 samples of "Me & The Devil", "Tennessee Whiskey", and the calmer "Hellbilly Heaven". End conclusion? The kind of album I can absolutely listen to in all serenity with my 69-old father without him getting nervous, or me getting bored! The kind of music I could put on while sitting on the porch on a hot Summer's night, cold cocktail close at hand...enjoying the good life and the things it has to offer! Not a world-shocking album, and not something one would put in his year-lists, but the kind of thing you can listen to to relax. Does that make any sense? I lóve this band! 90/100 Tony. |