Album, Single and EP Reviews


 

 

  Time & Life by Red Moon Joe


Time & Life cover art

Artist: Red Moon Joe
Title: Time & Life
Catalogue Number: DBS DBSCD003
Review Format: Compact Disc
Release Year: 2017



Aha. Red Moon Joe. Must have missed them the first time around but here they are again with what must be a comeback album called “Time & Life” and it’s country as the folks of today know it and it isn’t actually as bad as I had thought it might have been.

Sure, there are no surprises here with the rose tinted dustbowl sentimentality of the genre present and correct in every song but that is, perhaps, a commercial reality as a band has to make a living and giving people what they want does just that. However, the devil is in the detail and closer inspection – try “Psychedelic Sid” for an example - will unearth a wry sense of humour in the lyrics that is more than enough to bring a subliminal smile to even the coldest of cold reviewer hearts. Throw in a couple of guest stars – Cathryn Craig just about steals the show in “The High Lonesome” – to stir it up and things are definitely starting to look promising with even our very own Justin Currie – God bless him – making an appearance on “Slow Sun Wheeling”.

As conventional as Red Moon Joe are, they are nonetheless polished not to the point of perfection but to a purpose and that purpose is to prove that modern day Nashville can be transplanted to the gardens of Lancashire and still flower in the sunshine. Job done, as they say.


www.redmoonjoe.com
Reviewer:
Review Date: August 13 2017