Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Smile broadly for the cameras above the red door, have the hatcheck boy take your coat and be escorted to your table of choice by one of the many hosts and hostesses who will provide you with the menu of originality and musical entertainment at no cost except to acknowledge the existence of The Hellfire Club and the chance to hear, for the passing of a crisp note baring a notable person’s face, A Different Song in progress.
There will be those that suggest that 2020 was the year Hell visited Earth, that the notion of freedom has been altered, that we have had to learn new ways whilst pining for what was, and yet when we really look at the chance we have been offered, it is perhaps to be argued that we were already in limbo anyway, one foot in the underworld, one hand grasping for a heaven that we are permanently denied, then A Different Song is to be pushed to the top of the agenda, a different pulse is needed to be heard around the world.
The Glasgow-based roots/Americana group have not only arrived at the club, but have taken on the responsibility of refusing to allow Time pass by without having their say, adding their own distinctive voice to bringing resonance to the situation, inserting decorum and blissful imagination to a place where none of us would ever think we would be. It is in the application of adapting to the weathering elements of Time that we find that the uncommon but special tune becomes our own soundtrack, the influence of our soul.
Despite whatever plans were in place, we have to adapt if we wish to get our words across, the images out in the world to offer hope, and even in the midst of the unusual there is hope to be found, and as tracks such as the opener 1984, the excellent Fragile, Another Independence Day, Country Blues, the eye opening Hadn’t Been For You, Red Dresses and Morning Train all are received by the faithful inside the club; the sound travels beyond the door and climbs inside the subconscious of those wavering under the pressure of Time, and if they are receptive to change, will find an energy worth cultivating within the passages of enlightenment.
An album for the time, but one that should herald a shift in perspective, of enjoyment. The Hellfire Club offer A Different Song with passion.
The Hellfire Club release A Different Song on September 4th.
Ian D. Hall