The Outlaw Orchestra - ‘Pantomime Villains’ Released ‪May 29th 2020‬ on Voodoo Queen Records

The Outlaw Orchestra first caught my attention almost two years ago when they appeared at the 02 in Sheffield. I’d never heard of them at this point but went home with more than an interest in this great new band that I’d seen who pulled in the punters with their unique take on rock/country/bluegrass/blues, call it what you will but their choice of title is Heavy Grass and I guess that’s the easiest way to describe this addictive mashup. Just imagine this, Billy Gibbons jamming with Motorhead when Johnny Cash walks through the door to grab a mic, throw Earl Scruggs into the room with his trusty banjo and dim the lights n grab a beer or three and that’s exactly what we have here.

Of the ten tracks on offer the band manage to cover all areas of their repertoire from the more melancholy to the downright foot tapping with a good dose of heavy blues to whet your appetite for more.
Opener “Take a Bow” sets the scene and on first listen I’m impressed by the production, crisp and clean whilst retaining enough dirt to keep it real.
“Chicken Fried Steak” conjures up images of a bunch of rednecks commandeering a boat to sail around the Louisiana coast, sea shanty anyone? Perhaps I’ve just spent too much time in isolation!

It’s hard to believe these four boys hail from Southampton, the music is as infectious as covid, “Whiskey Drinking Liar” comes across all leery, someone just poured in a tube of astroglide as its sliding all over the place with the inclusion of a little lap steel for good measure.
With “Jumpin Jive” you can imagine a barn dance, it’s somewhat Quo-esque in places and unknowingly making my head bob involuntarily, I guess anyone who loves Quo will understand.
I’m not about to gush over and detail every track as there is much to enjoy here, a standout for me however is “Voodoo Queen”, a flamenco style opening paves the way for David to tell us the story, think back to playing well used vinyl on your grandparents record player, you can just feel the atmosphere within and it’s a wonderful thing.

The album wraps up with “Send Some Whiskey Home”, a mid tempo track with some fine picking to be heard, perhaps their most commercial offering here and you can really imagine it doing well stateside.
In summary, what I witnessed back in 2018 was no flash in the pan, the very band I saw much potential in with my live review have taken their time in giving us an album of great music.

Once we are through this current situation with the entire planet in lockdown, I see them hitting the live scene again, but this time armed with a physical albums worth of great material to peddle.

Don’t take my word for it though, go and discover them for yourself.