Music from the yesterdays and today!

Deborah Gee and Glen Laughlin are The Cherry Bluestorms and Transit of Venus is the fruits of the collision between Deborah's intended second solo album and Glen Laughlin's skills as a producer and his ability to cook up some real guitar storms from his time performing with The Dickies.

The album opens with a cover of The Beatles 'Baby You're a Rich Man' and it is a brave move, because you're at once making comparisons to a very familiar song by one of the most famous bands ever, but they pull it off by giving it tons of energy, verve, sparkle and an up to date treatment. 'Here' is a very left field take on a ballad, with it's up front tremolo guitar underpinning the opening vocal lines, before the big production kicks in and the offbeat treatment continues throughout, to make the song less than predictable and all the better for it. 'Violent Heart' again avoids the often commited sin of trying to sweeten a recording just because the singer happens to be female. The song is beautifully melodic, but the instrumentation is powerful and very supportive and Deborah's voice is cushioned by all this and sounds great. 'While You Were Away' also punches above it's weight with some big noisy guitar rythmns and some great hooks. 'Departure' rounds off the set with it's edgey piano figure ushering in another interesting twisting and turning arrangement, which mixes straightforwardish verse structures and dramatic choruses and breaks.

I love it when a band takes a good few risks and avoids producing run of the mill music, whilst still managing to grab your attention. The Cherry Bluestorms make great music that demands your attention by virtue of the high standard of songwriting and arrangement and also by working to their own blueprint and not an 'off the shelf' one. I can heartily recommend this.

Reviewed by Kevin Wallbank
08/21/09