The follow up to Xander And The Peace Pirates’ debut album has been a while coming, six years in fact since the band who were discovered on YouTube by Gibson guitars management made their first studio release.
We start off with a ballad in the form of `We Cry’. As soon as the funky riffs and Keith Xander’s soulful, smoky lead vocal kick in, it’s like they’ve never been away. Instantly familiar with bluesy guitar passages dripping fluidly from the hooked guitar master of the fretboard. This track is poignant in today’s climate as an atomic bomb soundbite plays out as the track finishes. `Leave A Light On’ brings in more elements like a `Running Up That Hill’ style drum beat, a haunting echoey guitar part and Xander’s vocal that has an American tinge that gives the whole track an Eagles feel. The track is intricate, but they make it sound so effortless. Wonderful stuff!
`I’m No Good At Being Bad’ has a moody edge that also sees Xander stretch his vocal range to the upper registers, he puts his very soul and buckets loads of passion into every line he delivers. As if that’s not enough Mike Gay pulls some sweet slide guitar playing out of the bag too. `Order Out Of Chaos’ comes next and is a stripped back drum and bass soft rock affair.
The slower, but intensely beautiful `Into The Water’ is a brilliantly constructed love song that tugs on the heartstrings. Returning to soft rock comes `Kiss The Rain’ with a catchy singalong chorus and a short but sweet solo.
`Breathless’ has that epic Eagles type of sound initially before branching out into the pop/country crossover territory of Fleetwood Mac et al. It’s a definite masterpiece though, nothing overblown, just terrific hooks and memorable melodies. The blues-based `Fog’ has an early Pink Floyd undercurrent due to its slide guitar work running throughout and is sadly a song that ends all too quickly.
We finish with an all-out Blues rocker in the shape of `Heart Stop’. Seventies rock guitar riffs and solos drift in and out of this infectiously good track. Think Free getting a groove on and you’ll not be far off the mark.
Xander and the boys have created an album that is good when you first hear it and then it just keeps getting better the more you listen to it. No fillers, nothing reckless, just good honest groove tinged blues with a big sprinkle of Peace Pirates magic.
Bravo me hearties!
Review: Paul Sabin
01 – We Cry 4:52
02 – Leave The Light On 4:04
03 – Soul Sailing 3:17
04 – I m No Good At Being Bad 5:10
05 – Order Out Of Chaos 5:02
06 – Into The Water 5:09
07 – Kiss Your Rain 4:11
08 – Breathless 4:10
09 – Fog 2:27
10 – Heart Stop 2:38
Pre-order the album here: https://orcd.co/XandTPP-OOOC
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