Maverick April 2004 ( UK)

Radiotones - Bound to Ride

Recorded in Glasgow and Hartlepool, this is the third outing for self-proclaimed 'Scottish Alt.Blues Terrorists" Radiotones, following their critically acclaimed albums Gravel Road (1998) and Whiskey'd Up (2000). Formed by National steel guitar player Dave Arcari in 1997 as an acoustic three-peice, the 'Tones decided to go electric in 2001, adding a drummer and releasing the single Bring My baby back which is the first to be taken from Bound to Ride.

the band basically plays a kind of supercharged blues eschewing studio trickery for straight-to-tape earthy music that boasts a plethora of grating guitars and raucous haunting harp throughout the course of its thirteen tracks, all bar two of which are Radiotones originals.

this is nowhere more evident than on the opening Another Chance with its repetitive Delta-style electric guitar riffsand Arcari's gravel-throated vocals.

Things slow down somewhat for the funerally-paced Troubled Mind whose blinding wall of guitar and harp sound carries all before it, while the single returns to a deep Southern blues with a vengeance to the accompaniement of a furious quadruple time bass and drum rhythm from Adrian Paterson and Don MacKinnon.

And it continues in that vein, fast, furious and immediate (Devil Got my Woman, Journeytime is Over, Close to the Edge to name just three), but without taking time to take a breath (You Oughtta Know slows things a tad although it's still pretty frantic).

The two cover tracks are interesting - Frankie Miller's One More Heartbreak bashes along in good rockabilly style, the now familiar interplay between distorted slide guitar and Jim Harcus' raging harp carrying things along at break-neck speed, while Chris Scott's seven-minute workout Hot Muscle Jazz careers relentlessy toward you like an approaching train wreck.

It's Din City alright! This is a powerful blues-rock album and, as the set that marks the band's ransition from acoustic to electric format, it's a major development in their evolution.

One minor criticism is that there isn't sufficient variety in the chain of high octane numbers on offer – a slow blues might sit well here and there – but the album makes great lsitening and points to a live act to die for.