Stiv Cantarelli and the Silent Strangers - Banks of the Lea

  by Malcolm Carter

published: 14 / 11 / 2014

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Review

The second album from Stiv Cantarelli and the Silent Strangers shows the band taking a slightly different route than that of their debut, the well-received ‘Black Music/White Music’. Much of this shift in sound might well be due to the change of location. Whereas the band’s debut was recorded in an abandoned church in Italy’s Romagna Hills ,this latest collection of ten songs was laid down in Gizzard Studios by the banks of the River Lea in Hackney Wick, East London. The dirty punk flavored blues tracks on ‘Black Music/White Music’ are explored more deeply here, and, while Cantarelli’s raspy vocals are still in place and as emotive as ever and the band are sounding as tight as this, the fact that this album was recorded in the south of England must have some influence in the overall sound this time. Tracks such as the rollicking ‘Jason Hit the City’, which is blessed with some nice touches like the saxophone from Roberto Villa (Yep, I’m giving a little praise to the sax on a rock record. It really works well in the context of this song) and the fullness the keyboards bring to the song, show a mix of influences from many countries but there’s still this overriding Englishness to the overall sound. As you’d expect from an album bearing Cantarelli’s name ,there’s a darkness hanging over the album (as Cantarelli himself sings in the above song), not least on ‘Razor/Pistol’ which opens with floating, wide-eyed guitar sounds before erupting into a melee of sound with the guitar really taking off into orbit. The band follow this up with ‘Sasha’ which begins like a gentle love song, before showing a harder edge then lapsing again into the nearest Cantarelli is ever going to get to showing his romantic side; it’s a fine diversion and displays the bands love of the blues in an unexpected way. Maybe it’s the saxophone, but there’s a Springsteen touch that floats about, in some of these songs. At other times early Stones seem to be an influence but really this is Cantarelli’s take on the blues. ‘Arrogance Blues’ is one of the best examples of this side of the band's character while ‘Soul Seller’ follows the same path. There’s some stunning guitar being played deep in that song. At times you wish each member of the band would stop trying to outdo the others and just let it flow one instrument at a time. Oh, take that back. That’s exactly what happens in ‘Soul Seller’ a third of the way in; more of the same please. There’s a live feel to the production by Peter Bennett (Monkey Island, The Dublo, Morning Bride), and he certainly captures the best in the band. While the album is only going to appeal to those who like their modern blues unrestrained by any rules and prefer songs that twist, turn and go to places unexpected, there are few bands who capture the passion and power as well as Stiv Cantarelli and the Silent Strangers do on ‘Banks of the Lea’.

Track Listing:-

1 The Streets
2 Frenzy
3 Jason Hit the City
4 Razor Pistol
5 Sasha
6 Arrogance Blues
7 Lacalifornia
8 Soul Seller
9 Leaving Blues
10 Before I Die
11 Lacalifornia (Uber Alles Mix)

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/StivCantarell
http://stivcantarelli.com/
https://twitter.com/scandthess

Label Links:-

http://www.stoveponyrecords.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/stovepony
https://twitter.com/stovepony