Down by John Thaw:
Beat-boxing Canadian bluesmen are woefully under-represented in the world of pop music, so thank goodness for Son of Dave (real name Benjamin Darvill), who is back with another collection of tongue-in-cheek but impossibly infectious rock’n’roll stompers.
In a return to the lo-fi sound of his early albums, Music for Cop Shows is dominated by parping harmonica, grunts and snarls that are accessorised here and there with a spindly guitar or keyboard lick.
The half-whispered, half-barked lyrics are as strange as ever, hinting at seedy tales of staying up late, dancing all night and generally acting the rogue.
But the emphasis remains resolutely on getting listeners’ hips swinging, and every track pulsates with foot-tapping grooves. Cop shows never sounded so funky.
This review first appeared in the Belfast Telegraph
James JW Robinson 