ALBUM REVIEW: THE STRAYS - BRAND NEW DAY EP
The sun is out, drinks are flowing and the country is united in a state of summery euphoria. With that in mind, we can’t think of a better time to listen to ‘Brand New Day’ the second EP from Cheltenham rock’n’rollers ‘The Strays’. Released back in April, ‘Brand New Day’ has been in our library for quite some time now, but due to multiple drawbacks and distractions it has only recently resurfaced to our attention and boy are we happy that it has. The resounding feeling that you will first encounter when listening to ‘The Strays’ is that of disbelief. Disbelief that of all the potential places of origin, this band have come from Cheltenham in Gloucestershire; as ‘Brand New Day’ sounds as though it could only ever have come from the southern states of the USA. All the way from the upbeat rock’n’roll rhythms of opening track ‘Scratch My Back’ all the way to closing country ballad ‘The River’, ‘The Strays’ have a sound that is begging to be played in Honky Tonk concert halls across the state of Tennessee to two-steppin dancers. In fact we challenge anybody to listen to this record without dancing or shuffling in their seats. ‘The Strays’ describe their ethos as “simple, to produce vibrant, exciting music that people just want to move to…” ‘Brand New Day’ accomplishes this and so much more. Be it the blues infused Memphis rock’n’roll of ‘Black Swan’ or the dance hall swing of the afore mentioned ‘Scratch My Back’; ‘Brand New Day’ is a joy to listen to and a great soundtrack to one of the warmest summers the UK has witnessed in years.
7/10
Personal highlight: Middle track ‘Go Go Boy’ kicks things up a notch with one of the sexiest riffs of the year and continues to ramp up the pace until you burn off the should of your dancing shoes. The additional joy of the lyrics in a role reversal of the traditional sexual objectification in rock’n’roll music “hey boys this is not the 50’s” and ‘Go Go Boy becomes a genuine party anthem.
