The Outlaw Orchestra - God Knows We Tried EP
Released 18/07/19
Review by; DeeDee
You have to admire Rocker Dave, his anecdotes on stage are captivating, as I witnessed at Nozfest recently. His sense of humour and wit make a live performance of THE OUTLAW ORCHESTRA a wondrous musical experience. So how do they fair on record? The latest EP from the hillbillies of Southampton, is out now, time to have a listen.
Dave on guitar and vocals, is backed by the lively banjo of Pete Briley, for ‘Country High’ an easy going, finger picking song, that introduces you to the band in a fine manner. Swampy sounds like Little Feat and Lynyrd Skynyrd combined with some soulful rock, a little Rival Sons and even some Black Sabbath, is the best way to describe the four strong band. ‘God Knows’ is so mellow, Dave addresses the title track, which is a simple tale, with some smooth strings and it is just so intoxicating. Not so mellow is ‘Burn The House’ a groove filled number with a lot of lyrics but a catchy repeating hook and some awesome slide sounding guitar. The double bass of Alex Barter and drums from Ryan Smith back it up adding a bluesy, early 70’s vibe. It goes out all guns blazing, but really pleasing to the ear. ‘Phantasmagoria’ is more complicated, it swings from easy laid-back Bluegrass to slower Funk and some quite heavy psychedelic lines in-between. I suppose that’s what the title is all about !
There is a fifth track, which is a radio edit of ‘Country High’, personally I would have used the space for another song, as it is very similar to the first track. But that’s just a small gripe, the EP is very entertaining and well executed. You get the idea of what The Outlaw Orchestra are about and how different they are, from many of the bands around at the moment.
4/5
The Outlaw Orchestra are -
David ‘Rocker Dave’ Roux - Guitars/ Lead Vocals
Ryan Smith - Drums
Alex Barter - Double Bass / Vocals
Pete Briley - Banjo/ Lap Steel/ Vocals
​
https://www.theoutlaworchestra.com/