Although the Maverick Festival has been regularly attended
over the years, it has to be confessed that a Police Dog Hogan set has not been
witnessed despite this seven-piece UK band being frequent visitors since their
inception in 2009. However this situation will definitely be rectified after
taking time out to give their new release a worthy and rewarding lengthy
listen. Obviously this is down to the band being invited back but there is so
much synergy between their sound and the vibes of this festival, that surely
a return visit is inevitable.
Within a couple of bars of the opening track, the foot
stomping ‘Better Go Now’, you can
detect the influence of Americana legend Steve Earle and, low and behold, his
name is mentioned a couple of songs later in ‘The More Things Change’. This song is probably the stand out track
on the album and Earle is referred to along with his New Traditionalist
compatriots Randy Travis and Dwight Yoakham. This pointed to a moment in
country music history where change occurred without anything really changing.
This track also contains a brief sampling Earle’s classic ‘Guitar Town’.
Two other quality
tracks on the record highlight the band’s diversity. ‘Fraserburgh Train’, selected as the album’s first single, is a
wonderful account of a war participant’s mind wandering towards the journey
home via the subject of the title. This has all the credentials of fine folk
song, delivered in a waltz-like sea shanty style with a sing along chorus. By
contrast ‘Devil Jim’ has an all
together different sound with its rock n’ roll influences, while the harmonies
of the band are best represented in the less frantic number ‘Matilda’. The album comes to a poignant
ending with a split 4:37 segment commencing with a short a cappella piece
called ‘The Banks’ before the bonus
track, the delightful ’14 Roses’ slides
effortlessly in to bring the record to a close.
As you would expect from a band setting their stall out to
give an interpretation of roots music, the sounds of mandolin, fiddle, banjo
and dobra are interwoven with the usual guitar,and percussion input from drums
and bass. The album has benefitted from the guidance of experienced producer Eliot
James and the finished product is an accomplished record that the band can
proudly take forward and promote around the country. Hopefully this will
include a busy 2013 festival season and, perhaps, a return visit to Maverick
where their set will be eagerly awaited this time.
Fraserburgh Train
