Review: Trouble County – Blacken The Sky

Epictronic (December 13^th, 2024)

Reviewer: Grant Foster

Trouble County are a three piece from Portsmouth, U.K.

Julian Holman (Guitar & Vocals), Mark Penton (Bass and Backing vocals) and Spencer Watson (Drums and Backing vocals)

Their bio states that ‘’music is a powerful thing – It shapes and makes us who we are.’’

Ain’t that the truth.

They say they play a unique blend of vintage modern rock.

Well, they do and yet it’s a happy marriage of the two. Guitar? Modern. Bass and drums? Old school in the best way. Vocals? Straddles both to an enjoyable level.

Anyway, I pressed play and after the first two tracks, I wasn’t sure. Perseverance dear boy!

Then about three quarters of the way through, all the pieces fell into place.

Those pieces are – musically a cross between early Sabbath, a sprinkle of early Motörhead and Black Oak Arkansas with the vocals showing more than a touch of Layne Staley.

The band show a deft touch of dynamics amongst the heaviness, especially on ‘The Debt We Pay‘.

There’s a swagger evident on ‘Wasted‘ and ‘Drink Some More‘.

And there’s that slow groove, almost devil inspired feel on ‘Gotta Try‘, ‘Desperado‘ and ‘You Again‘.

And that’s not mentioning the riff heaviness of ‘Awake‘, ‘Blacken The Sky‘ and ‘Rapturous Me‘.

‘12 Gauge Blues‘ might just be the standout track. A groove and then some.

The band have a way of song construction that sets them apart. The importance of gaps in the music that lets the vocal breathe should never be underestimated.

Like I said, this style, isn’t really my thing, but, when it’s done this well, it’s not easy to dismiss it, just because I don’t usually listen to that style!

The production is as organic as I’ve heard from an album this year. You can almost touch it, it’s that raw.

Well done lads – to quote their biog – ‘’You think it wouldn’t work, but sometimes it just does……’’

Tracklist:

1. Wasted
2. Awake
3. Rapturous Me
4. Gotta Try
5. 12 Gauge Blues
6. Desperado
7. John Baker
8. You Again
9. Drive
10. Drink Some More
11. Blacken The Sky
12. The Debt We Pay

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