Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
The image and sounds that exemplify the city of Birmingham are multiple and varied. The city of a thousand trades as the sign proudly once stated on the wall by the iconic Bull Ring, a place of memory from its homage to the fallen of the attacks by Nazi Germany in the Tree Of Life sculpture by Lorenzo Quinn and the effects of the modern landscape merging almost seamlessly with the old ideals and desires of those wishing to see the Midland’s centrepiece lauded worldwide.
Arguably without equal in many respects, the home of heavy metal, other forms of music and art, The Twang stand proudly as one of the leading exponents of the Indie genre, and have always found their roots to be a source of inspiration and information, and perhaps never more so than in the album Jewellery Quarter. An album of warmth and foresight, one that arguably at the time of release wasn’t afforded the generosity of acclaim by some it deserved, but one now 15 years on which can resolutely be played with confidence as the special edition, Jewellery Quarter 24K is unleashed.
Never mind the critics, it is often said with honest intent, it is the fans that count, and the Indie favourite certainly lives up to that bill as the listener is transported back to the time when tracks such as Barney Rubble, Put It On The Dancefloor, Back Where We Started, and Another Bus were greeted with passion and commitment to the cause that the Birmingham band were striving to achieve.
As the foursome, Phil Etheridge, Jon Watkin, Stu Hartland, and Ash Sheehan, was to prove consistently since their inception, it is the beat and the observation that pulls the sound onwards, and Jewellery Quarter 24K is no exception to the rule; and those who found themselves wistfully tramping up from St. Paul’s Church and beyond the captivating modernity that replaced the negativity left by the 70s decay towards the namesake area of the city, their heads in a maze of thought of how the group captured an image, let alone a sound that was so Birmingham, and yet indelibly universal.
The feel of this special edition is driven by a strong identifying pulse, one of drama, of unique groove and display, and yet ferociously independent, not owing an explanation to anyone but those willing to listen.
The Twang release their special edition of Jewellery Quarter 24K on December 6th.
Ian D. Hall