Courtnay and the Unholy Reverie play the dirty jook joint Blues and R’n’B style of Americana. The sound of the electrified diddey-bow rises once again.
They are getting good local word-of-mouth in hometown New Plymouth. The home of WOMAD for many years. That is as eclectic as you get for diverse World music, and I am thinking of the African Desert Blues in particular, regarding this band.
The leader and main songwriter is Courtnay Low, rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Chad Williams drums, Keith Parker bass, with newbies or stand-ins Liana Hart vocals and harmonica, and Riley Smith guitar.
You can trace the path from Elmore James (electrified Robert Johnson) through to John Lee Hooker to Elmo Glick (Brian Jones before the Stones) to Jack White Stripes.
Dirty slide guitar tones, droning low register fuzztone riffing, a solid engine room platform is what make this band exciting.
The lead singer is not so shabby either. More Bonnie Raitt with a little grit than a Big Maybelle of Big Mama Thornton, who threatened to eat mere mortal males for breakfast.
Elvis and Jerry Lee took the venom out and made them R’n’B classics.
That’s an aside. Closer to home we have Delaney Davidson who trades in this style of Unholy Reverie.
The show tonight is a launch for their new EP Mercy released six weeks ago.
Mercy and Vulture Vulture has the classic dirty distorted slide tones. The sound of a wire or cable stretched over a piece of wood, held down by metal screws or nails and plugged in. Give me my redemption.
Have a look at the great guitar hero movie It May Get Loud, where Jack White demonstrates this. To a bunch of cows. Later he gets to be awe-struck by Jimmy Page.
Lost At Sea is different. Country Americana and a stylish harmonica from Hart. The quieter tone allows Low’s vocals to stand out. Maybe we can compare her another Bonnie as well. Bramlett.
Grave comes back in Chicago barroom style. A slower tempo makes it dirty and sludgy.
Leave Out the Rest stands out for the tribal drums intro. The drummer takes it upon himself to give the drummer some, and he extends out into a solo. Before the band come back in to a raging Blues number.
The engine room rhythm section gives this band their essential solid foundation.
Low Down Achin’ Chill. Is that the real title? The band throw in a few Magic Band angular quirks.
There are times they sound like a classic Sixties Blues based Rock band.
Anxiety throws out some Zeppo crunch riffs and the singer has some nice Blues phrasing.
Holy Moses is down the Country Americana path again. A good pub band sound where you need a cage around the stage. They sound like Larkin Poe here with the vocal harmonies.
Supported by Death Chemist and Animalhead. Both worthy bands deserving of more attention.
Animalhead I was told are a Bogan Metal band, and they give it a good thrashing, with the guitarist indulging in some impressive shredding.
Covering Hendrix’s Foxy Lady is always guaranteed to impress.
Death Chemist get to go all over the place.
They start with thrash Metal, then do a few Sabbath inspired ones, before doing a religious song.
But what they are trying to say is Fuck Your Ideology.
They have a sense of humour in a similar vein to the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. Particularly Vivian Stanshall in the theatrical antics of the lead singer.
They get to be spooky and psychedelic with closing number Mystic Ritual.
Courtney and the Unholy Reverie close their set with Summertime. Not the one you’re thinking of. The Daddy’s rich and Mummy’s good-looking one.
This is a hard driving R’n’B road song. The road to Taranaki.
Rev. Orange Peel
Photograph by Leonie Moreland
Courtnay and the Unholy Reverie
Animalhead
Death Chemist
