Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Northern Irish troubadour Brian Houston has teamed with drummer Ned Alexander - together known as the Presleys - to record an album of garage blues numbers in aid of North Carolina homeless charity Embrace. As you would except from any Houston release, this is a delightfully raw, rough and ready piece and, whilst he's keen to go under the radar on this occasion by adopting a band pseudonym, it's got the one they used to call the Belfast Elvis written all over it. Present here are Houston's trademark alternating holler and whisper vocals, gritty guitar work and general swagger whilst his colleague Ned Alexander adds some fine John Bonham-style drumming to beef out an album chock full of down-home blues riffs. Whilst most of the songs here are about women leaving and letting girls go, tracks such as "Poor In America", "These Walls" and the album's highlight "Gun Store", featuring a fine rap from an uncredited emcee, reference the plight of those the duo's chosen charity seeks to help and this gives a deeper purpose to what sounds like a fun side project for the prolific Irishman.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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