Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners - 'Ginger Wildheart & The Sinners'

On this album Ginger immerses himself in Roots Rock, Americana and just a hint to Southern Rock, which I’ll come to later. These are all genres that should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed Ginger’s career outside The Wildhearts. He has already released two solo albums that wade into these waters. 2017’s ‘Ghosts in the Tanglewood,’ complete with a cover of Steve Earle’s ‘My Old Friend the Blues,’ and the 2018 release ‘The Pessimist’s Companion,’ both clearly nailed Ginger’s Americana credentials to the flagpole and ran them up high.

Ginger writes or co-writes every track on the album bar two. I’ve been a fan since the early days of The Wildhearts and have always rated his lyrics highly. On this album he has excelled himself.

We kick straight in with the lead track and first song released to radio ‘Wasted Time’. A song that bounces along in the best Jason and the Scorcher’s fashion but offers so much more in the tale of people who should not be right for each other but who find that ‘wasting time is never wasted time with you.’ It’s short, and rocks us right in.

In fact, short sharp tunes packed with melody is the model here. Eight of the tracks come in under four minutes. The other two just clear the four-minute mark.

Track two is closest we get to something that you could almost hear being cranked up and rocked out by The Wildhearts. Not that it needs it. ‘That Smile’ bounces along on a hook that will have you humming it all day very quickly. It’s quite possibly one of the brightest and cheeriest tunes Ginger has ever written. The vocals are excellent here and the guitar solo is a thing of beauty.

Another thing that quickly becomes apparent is that this is one of the most upbeat and optimistic albums we’ve had from Ginger lyrically.

‘Footprints In the Sand’ is the first track that band members Neil Ivison, and Nick Lyndon get a co-write on. This is one of my favourite tracks on the album. Neil takes lead on this and sings about the things his mother gave him at the start of the song. As we enter the chorus, he ‘still hears her voice in times of trouble.’ I can feel that it resonates deeply with me as someone who lost his ‘mam’ very young.

‘Lately, Always,’ is a slightly slower track. It’s a darker lyric speaking of ‘playing Russian Roulette with the reaper.’ The escape is an online persona and a forbidden fantasy. If you follow Ginger on social media, you’ll know that this is a real battle for him. He’s never hidden his mental health issues and the struggles they bring him. Here we get a small insight into that darkness and how the coping mechanism might be just as unhelpful.

This brings us to the first cover on the album (and the last track on side one if you’re listening along on vinyl.) It’s a cracker too, roots Americana Southern take on Status Quo’s ‘Dirty Water.’ Following on from ‘Lately Always,’ I found myself linking the songs chorus back to the struggles of Mental Health and modern living. ‘The water’s getting deep, and I can’t swim,’ is a metaphor for a place in life many of us find ourselves in at some time or other. It’ a song about reaching out and hoping that someone out there hears you and answers you cry for help.

‘Work in Progress,’ kicks off next and fires up side two with the addition of some very effective vocals from Givvi Flynn. It stomps along like prime Jason and the Scorchers or Georgia Satellites. Two bands Ginger is very fond of. We’re addressing the darker side of life again here, addiction and the trials of escaping it’s grasp. It’s an optimistic view though, the failing s and falling back into the bad habits are all ‘part of the process’.

‘Breakout’ is as close as we get to a ballad. Slow down some almost military drum patterns at the start from Shane Dixon lead into a strum of acoustic guitars. It tells us about the cycle of getting somewhere and then having it taken away. That we’re judged by those who ‘have forgotten they were ever in doubt, in debt or in need.’ It’s a song that puts me in mind of the Jayhawks at their peak, and that’s a pretty high place to be.

‘Six Years Gone,’ is the album’s second cover. It’s a Dan Baird song that Ginger has been carrying close to his heart for some time. Ginger has said in interviews that having become obsessed with the song while in L.A. for Lemmy’s funeral that this was the first song he wanted to play with the band.

Almost at the end we get ‘Not the Staying Kind,’ It’s all about that girl who while you’re just settling into the relationship is already looking for the next guy. It’s a mid-tempo song and suits its place towards the end of the album. It’s lifted midway through by a searing guitar solo that makes you sit up as it’s not really a guitar soloing album. The reliance here is more about the groove and rhythm.

Things are wrapped up ‘Code of the Road.’ This is a light-hearted(?) look at the life of a touring band. A lot of recognisable music stereotypes are targeted and shot clean through the heart here. It’s great end to the album putting a big smile on your face.

So, it’s hats off to the Ginger and the Sinners, Neil Ivison (vocals and guitars), Nick Lyndon (vocals and bass), Shane Dixon (vocals and drums), Givvi Flynn (guest vocals) and Maggie (squeaky toy and good vibes). A big round of applause too for Dave Draper who gives the album a crisp sound that helps bring out the energy of the songs.

This is a record that shines like ‘sunshine breaking through the rainy day,’ (‘That Smile’). There are golden melodies here, there is hope, there is fun and there is laughter. Like any great country record it has you whooping and hollering and just when you’re at the peak high it breaks your heart to pieces. If you think you don’t like roots or Americana music, you’re wrong, and this is the album to prove it. It’s time to get down with the sinners and pray.