Music
Vince Lee and The Wildcards launch When The Moon Shines Bright in Plymouth (interview)
18th February 2010Ever noticed that human and animal behaviour on the night of a full moon can be, shall we say, somewhat erratic?
Ace guitarist and singer/songwriter Vince Lee of The Wildcards says that his observation of revellers on the Barbican on such a night is precisely what led him to write the lead track on their latest album, When The Moon Shines Bright.
“It’s a very well-known phenomenon,” he explains, “and it’s recognised in all sorts of professions – police and hospitals employ more staff as do vets because of potential fights breaking out… People go insane – we’ve seen it happen on numerous occasions…”
Having already established a phenomenal reputation for their music – previous offering Raisin’ Hell made it into Blues Matters’ top ten albums of 2008 – the opening/title track delivers more than ever before with a mood reminiscent of Thriller, via the zombie choir vocals, scuzzy guitar riffage, and dirty driving drum and bass grooves topped with particularly evocative lyrics.
The specific attention to the lyrical content is part of the whole re-evaluation process that the band came up with after touring this time last year.
“We got back from touring last February to feel we’d reached a point where we weren’t moving on.
“So we bashed our heads together and decided we should trash stuff we had done in the past, cut out the songs we didn’t enjoy, and give the band a good old spring clean.”
The Wildcards took themselves off the touring circuit, and between February and October 2009 didn’t play any live shows, concentrating instead on the creative process.
Meanwhile Vince and bass player Al Wallis continued to perform with The Big Combo and became involved with young blues upstarts Thomas Ford (Simon Langsford) and the Dirty Harmonys, who to some extent injected fresh perspective on things.
“Simon has his head in the right place and I really like his approach. He’s a lot quicker at getting things out, doesn’t deliberate as much as I do, and he’s got a great structure to the way he writes songs.”
Vince decided to revamp his own writing technique to incorporate lyrics that are less ambiguous than before.
Hence not only the album opener, but another composition on the album Welcome to the Snakepit, which tells the story of a musician’s downfall – in self-confessed flowery language – set to a wonderfully contagious calypso rhythm.
“We also decided that we wanted to get right away from the mid tempo blues stuff we were used to playing and incorporate more rockabilly, swing and jump blues.
“Basically we thought ‘sod it, let’s have a laugh!’”
Tracks on the new album, accordingly, exude a more thrilling up-tempo vibe than ever before which, in among the vintage R&B, Cuban grooves and outright rock’n’roll rhythms should prove irresistible to dancers everywhere.
Meanwhile the Martin Vowles-penned Dead Cat Bounce, a brilliantly warped, cinematic instrumental, sounds like it’s straight out of a Sixties detective B-movie, while his other composition Out Of Control is one of their most original to date.
On it, Vince explores the deepest recesses of his vocal range while Al thumps out his meanest bassline in perfect time with Kevin Crowe’s jungle drum onslaught.
As well as self-written tunes, The Wildcards have gone out of their way to select a bunch of obscure vintage tracks which they give their own genius treatment.
The tongue in cheek, if controversial Women Are The Root Of All Evil, a real find from the pen of Paul Williams, appears as track two, only to be reprised brilliantly in a capella form complete with doo wop and hand clap accompaniment, in conclusion.
She Can Rock is a classic Little Ike number speeded up to breakneck pace of 40bpm, with Vince screaming the vocals so hard and high, a la Little Richard, it took his voice four days to recover!
By contrast Sweet Baby of Mine showcases the incredible talents of Becca Langsford who at 20 years old has acquired the vocal nuance and maturity of someone twice her age.
“We thought it was time to alter the band’s macho image and introduce a bit of feminine appeal for a change,” says Vince.
Recorded with Doc at PMC Studios, the song contributes to what is an absolute gem of an album, that sees this virtuoso combo reaching new heights in musicianship, swagger and invention, while providing one of the most fun and enjoyable listens around in any genre.
Given the current revival of interest in roots music, it could be timed just right, then, to win them the international acclaim they richly deserve.
To help raise their profile, nationally at least, you can vote for them at the British Blues Awards by going to www.britishbluesawards.com
The band launch their album at Annabel’s on February 20 and the Royal Oak, Marlborough, on February 19, before taking off for a three and a half week tour of Europe and Scandinavia. Catch them while you can.
Check out their tunes by visiting www.myspace.com/wildcardsmusic
CLARE ROBINSON
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