Labels: All in Vinyl
Review by: Norrie Sills
The first thing that makes this LP feel welcoming is the beautiful cover art by Drew Millward. I actually googled him before listening to this, his stuff is awesome. The art here depicts a blue moon evening over a small industrial town. No track list on the cover, who’d want to ruin it. There is no A/B side. You can however play this record by land or sea.
Another thing that makes me feel welcome is the coincidence I think I saw Jimmy Islip play live in a Dumbydykes community centre in Edinburgh. He had come with Digger Barnes. There was no alcohol allowed in the community centre which allowed me to watch in forced sobriety (something which would have normally put me off. It was the best £5 I can remember for a long time. I was brought along by a friend who thought I would like it. That night I bought Digger Barnes’ Every story True LP which was excellent. I remember the other guy wasn’t too shabby either, and now I have his record to review.
Ok here goes – 11 tracks of unashamedly English accented country rock / folk rock or whatever it’s called this week. Not as orchestral as Digger Barnes’ Every Story True but in common, the tunes are apparent quickly and the songs are sung with passion and the lyrics hold your interest. Music is varied from Link Wray rockabilly to The Men They Couldn’t Hang punk folk on Johnny and Julie. Things like this rely on the skill of the song writer and it’s obvious that Jimmy has spent a long time on these songs, they’ll sink a little deeper with repeated plays. Mellow in a good way. It’s next to my Austin Lucas and Digger Barnes records, nice one Jimbob.