Bournemouth’s very own Voodoo Vegas have just announced details of their second album “Freak Show Candy Floss” which gets it’s full worldwide release on the 4th November. The band; after a very successful Pledge music campaign hit over 175% of their target, with fans signing up to the project well ahead of its release. The band have so far had a crazily busy year performing at a host of major festivals all over Europe. There is a launch party for the album at Talking Heads in Southampton on the 24th September, where the band are planning a very special night for their most loyal followers. The album was recorded at Los Rosales Studios in Moralzarzal, Spain and was engineered/produced by Guillermo ìWillî Maya who has previously worked with acts including The Answer, Breed 77 and Adrian Smith of rock legends Iron Maiden
Frontman Lawrence Case Said: “The name Freak Show Candy Floss comes from the idea that people who don’t live in this music world can’t understand why we travel for hours and hours only to play music for a short amount of time”. “Some people think we are crazy; insane, maybe even FREAKS! The name Freak Show Candy Floss comes from that-we are crazy; we are insane, we are FREAKS who love writing and playing our music and the candy floss is the music and gigs we play. It’s there; it tastes so sweet, but then it’s gone so quick just like candy floss.”
“I believe we’ve matured as songwriters and musicians, and the new album reflects this” states frontman Lawrence Case. “As much as we loved making the first album, last year’s EP was a hint of what was to come next, and we knew we had it in us to deliver the best album possible. And thanks to 2 years of touring around the UK and Europe, supporting some killer bands and learning so much from them and about ourselves as musicians and human beings, we’ve crafted Freak Show Candy Floss and we couldn’t be happier with the results.”
The band have gone through a few personnel changes over the years and these changes seem to have brought new refreshing ingredients, needed to take their sound to the next level. The new album certainly sounds like the Voodoo Vegas that we know and love with lots of newly developed elements. ‘Freak Show Candy Floss’ kicks off with a typically rocking number “Backstabber”; a tune that would not have been out of place on the debut album, with “twin guitars a blazing” and Lawrence delivering his unmistakeable powerful vocals. Things start getting interesting on “Long Time Gone” where the band deliver possibly one of the most creative tunes to date. From the opening drum intro; to the addictive guitar riff, middle eight and vocal performance they get everything just right producing a killer tune. “Killing Joke” takes its subject matter right out of DC comic books, all about Batman’s arch nemesis The Joker……..”Let the Feast of the Fools Begin”. A darker tune where guitarists Jon Dawson and Meryl Hamilton show their considerable talents with a feast of beautiful riffs.
The album continues with live favourite “Lady Divine” which again features yet another tasty, infectious riff that sounds equally great on guitar as it does on a banjo. Yes you hear me right, banjo, the band provided Pledge Music subscribers with a specially made banjo version of this tune. The band really up their creative game with “Poison”, a huge tune with an injection of the blues that really pushes the band beyond their usual boundaries. It features impressive dirty blues guitar, coupled with harmonica and a vocal performance that you would not think was possible if you saw the band when they first arrived on the local scene. Lawrence really pushes himself to the limits with tremendous results. “Black Hearted Woman” shows again the quality control on this album is top notch, another tune that shows the band firing on all cylinders.
The tempo slows down a little with “Sleeping in the Rain”, where they pick up their acoustic guitars to create something completely different. A tune that shows that the band are not one trick ponies and are capable of producing more delicate tunes. The twin electric guitars get plugged back in for “I Hear You Scream”. Here you can really notice the considerable difference drummer Jonno makes to the band’s sound, working with bassist Ash Moulton for a formidable rhythm section that forms the very backbone of the band’s considerable sound. “Walk Away” opens with an effect-laden guitar sound and continues the huge momentum created here. The album ends on “Resolution”; a beautifully crafted tune which starts off gently on acoustic guitars, before upping the tempo with yet more accomplished full-on electric guitar work then drifting off gently to close with more acoustics.
Normally after bringing out a debut album a band always finds it really hard to get stuck into that difficult second album – it has been nearly four years since the release of “The Rise of Jimmy Silver”. The band have put masses of effort into their live performances and also this record, these efforts have really been worthwhile. Here with ‘Freak Show Candy Floss’ we have an album that has challenged the band and pushed them to the very limits of their skills and knowledge of music.
Track Listing
Backstabber
Long Time Gone
Killing Joke
Lady Divine
Poison
Black Hearted Woman
Sleeping in the Rain
I Hear You Scream
Walk Away
Resolution
Voodoo Vegas are:
Lawrence Case – Vox/Harmonica
Merylina Hamilton – Guitar
Ash Moulton – Bass
Jonno Smyth – Drums
Jon Dawson – Guitar
Links
http://www.voodoovegas.com
https://www.facebook.com/VoodooVegas
Words by Dave Chinery (Chinners)
