CD: “South of the City” by Albany Down

London Rockers Albany Down have entrusted their debut long player to us at Rock Regeneration. Despite not being a huge aficionado of this genre its not hard to spot the obvious talent on show here. From the outset on opener “Dirty” through to LP closer “Without You” their Rock influences are worn very openly on their sleeves.

Throughout this well produced LP Paul (Muir’s) vocals are clear and complimented well alongside Paul (Turley’s) guitars. So, they kick off with Dirty, lyrically great with the wonderful line “dirty ain’t you woman,almost impossible to please” – one wonders if this is autobiographical! “The Morning After” is quite clearly the bands “ode to drinking”. Lyrically its simple almost carefree with a big middle 8. To hear Albany Down covering Duffy’s mercy whilst turning it into a Rock ballad is pretty impressive,this band clearly dont lack ambition. “Outside Your Window” lyrically is “weather-themed” although clearly quite personal.

Sadly the same cant be said about the frankly juvenile “Train Song” which is a shame as the intro promised so much more. Title track “South of the City” is straight up Bluesy Yank Rock with an acoustic ballady twist. I can just picture the band playing this live, all nodding heads and shoegazing in equal measure. Definitely one of the better numbers on here. The big middle 8 is a staple on most songs on this LP but doesnt detract from what is confident musicianship throughout. “I Wont Wait” is a harder song with some classic “Zeppelin-inspired” riffage going on.

On “Baby Where’d You Stay Last Nite” and “Jealousy” the themes head in the direction of the fairer sex, although I find the lyrics unchallenging. “Save Me” is another ballad that “asks questions” – great vocals and musicianship and another stand out song with more heartfelt lyrics. “I Wanna Know” has a nice big singalong chorus and is another album highlight. ‘Wasted’ has that classic 70’s Rock intro but lyrically is dull while LP closer ‘Without You’ is another heartfelt ballad.

All in all a confident debut, well produced with strong musicianship but if I say so myself lacking some “killer” lyrical content. On the strength of this debut Albany Down will be around for some time yet but (for this reviewer) they need to “up their game”! We wish them well.

Video

Line Up
Paul Muir-Vox
Paul Turley-Guitars
Billy Dedman-Bass
Damien Campbell-Drums

Track Listing
Dirty
The Morning After
Mercy
Outside Your Window
The Train Song
South of the City
I Wont Wait
Baby Where’d You Stay Last Night
Jealousy
Save Me
I Wanna Know
Wasted
Without You

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Review by Ross A.Ferrone.