Something Blue

First, a caveat: Rob Heron and his sharp-as-nails orchestra hail from old Newcastle, the one on the River Tyne in north-east England. But if you like swingin’ old-time North American ragtime and country blues, you will want some of Heron and the boys.

As Heron sums up on the track ‘Still Go Honky Tonkin’’, ‘I’m an English boy with the blues and I ain’t got nothin’ to lose.’ He revels in all things Stateside, and why not? Well, on the evidence of their third album, this outfit is everything you’d want from your US house band. Heron's machine-gun lyrics shoot witty one-liners faster than you can swallow them, his bandmates are ready with an eager backing vocal, and the cut-and-thrust of Colin Nicholson's accordion, Ben Fitzgerald's plucked guitars and Tom Cronin's mandolin and harmonica are held steady by the sultry bass of Ted Harbot.

The most distinctive aspect of the Tea Pad Orchestra (made up of alumni from the Newcastle University folk and trad music degree) is Heron's endlessly inventive lyric-writing. The songs are tight, beautifully conceived creative pieces. With so much good humour coming off their studio recordings, they must be one hell of a live band.