Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
It is a refreshing turn when a young group, a musician, any artist of serious note, can hand on their heart declare in the modern world that they are not in the profession for the clicks, the likes, the social media gratification, but that what they do is go out there and fill the room with so much electricity it could bring about an overload at the nearest substation and cause widespread disruption to the local area.
People want to be stars, they want adulation, they want to have the world hang on their every word and every move, but, and it is sad old tale spanning decades, quite often you sit back and think to yourself are they doing it for adulation, or are they really going to put more than a shift in, are they going to dig deep and create a noise that no one would dare ignore.
For the Tennessee quartet that make up Naked Gypsy Queens, what they have started is more than firing up the engines to create noise, they have built upon local reputation and sent out scouting parties full of engineers and firefighters to carefully watch each substation around, for this is a band rocking on a fuel that is incendiary, of being on the verge of something truly impressive; and as the debut E.P., Georgiana testifies, they have all the makings of scorching the earth beneath their feet and setting fire to the sky above their heads.
The six-strong track E.P., which houses the songs Down To The Devil, Strawberry Blonde #24, Wolves, If Your Name Is New York (Then Mine’s Amsterdam) and the twin version of the E.P.’s title track Georgiana in both full studio and live appearances, is honest, raw, it is the blue flame that is alluring and seemingly divine, a set of songs built on genuine hard work and appreciation, and one in which is reminiscent of how a musical cult would become the go to band of their era.
Whilst there is work ahead, the international lines buckling but not yet breeched, what the Naked Gypsy Queens have achieved in their debut is to be savoured, to be admired, and most of all played at full volume with an extinguisher ready by the side of the turntable…not to put out the fire of the music, but to cool you down when it all becomes steamy and heated in your soul.
Naked Gypsy Queens release Georgiana on February 11th via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group.
Ian D. Hall