The Lost Revue 'The Devil Hit A Hi-Hat Riding'
With a voice rasping and leathered, The Lost Revue's Al Joshua
sounds close to complete lung collapse if not imminent death.
Thankfully, it's the perfect colouring for this four piece's brand
of smoky, bounding blues. 'Devil Hit A Hi-Riding' is a stomach-
wrenching whirl through The Coral's basement and The Black Keys back
yard. In fact, only The 'Keys superb Dan Auerbach comes close to
delivering the sort of demonic grwol and hum Joshua and his fellow
blues men manage to capture on this record.
The flipside 'Sell My Ass' grasps for Beefheart's crown but misses
by an inch or ten, eventually falling somewhere near the feet of new
London howlers, Archie Bronson Outfit. Satisfyingly, it seems the
rich heritage The Lost Revue isnist onw ading through is doing them
no harm at all. And with the vocals immersed in swathes of filth and
grime from the American winter of 1929, standing out in the crowd
should be no problem at all.
(3/5) www.drownedinsound.com
The Lost Revue 'The Devil
Hit A Hi-Hat Riding'
What would The Coral sound like if they had a Captain Beefheart
obsession and the son of Motorhead's Lemmy on vocals? Very much like
the Lost Revue I'd imagine.
Currently creating waves in London, The Lost Revue unleash a double
A-side single to spread their word wider. 'Devil...' is the kind of
eccentric tune that you only get in UK music with an infectious
walking melody, lyrics that probably only make sense when you are
stoned and vocals from singer Al Joshua that sound like he's been on
100 cigarettes a day since he popped out of his mum. Completely
bonkers without being stupid and inane.
'Sell My Ass' covers poverty, drug addiction and prostitution as it
barrels along with fast blues rock riffs. A dark and forboding tone
is created by the lyrics which include "I'm gonna sell my ass for
romance/sell my ass for cash" though the band try to lighten the
mood in the chorus with a poppy round of "la la la's".
The Lost Revue certainly stand alone with content and sound, and
despite the bizarre eccentricity of it are actually bloody good fun
to listen to. Al himself says that the band sound like "chicken
bone stew, desperation and mockingbirds in gilded cages" - enough
said really! I doubt they will get much in the way of mainstream
airplay, but for those who seek out The Lost Revue, will be
rewarded with an original and very enjoyable musical treat.
(8/10) www.heathenangel.co.uk
The Lost Revue 'The Devil Hit A Hi-Hat Riding'
The live favourite, and now their much awaited first
single, Devil Hit A Hi-Hat Riding, is an explosive,
gravel fuelled blast of raw energy. And what a way
to start a hopefully long recording career. The single
captures all the excitement of their live performances.
From the opening bar the drums and guitars attack
you like Dick Turpin on his favourite highway. And
when the vocals jump aboard the carriage you are left
in no doubt of its potency. The drums are relentless
and addictive, taking a breather for a half time “cup
and a saucer…” before returning, with
all, for the final assault. Buy it, play it loud,
be seduced by it, then play it some more. A shuffle-punk
classic. And this is just the beginning....
(4/5)
www.music-news.com
The Lost Revue 'The Devil Hit A Hi-Hat Riding'
In a world of fakers, the search for authenticity
is a noble and quixotic enterprise, almost guaranteed
to end in failure. Almost. No genre of music is more
obsessed with authenticity than rock 'n' roll and
it is no surprise that the whole sex, drugs and abandonment
thing soon descends into cliché.
On the face of it, The Lost Revue are just another
set of victims to the same tired myths, but they manage
to rejuvenate them via the animal ferocity of Al Joshua's
voice, which is like a pack of feral dogs. Devil Hit
A Hi-Hat Riding is visceral 50s rock 'n' roll full
of Johnny Cash's grit and Tom Waits' gravel. Passionate,
vivid: good stuff.
(4/5)
www.noblesavage.info
