Rummage is one of the many bands featuring Marc Mulholland and Rusty Miller along with James Finch Jr all of whom have been around a while. They have worked with among others Nikki Sudden, Chuck Prophet, Toumani Diabate and Tony Allen so they have some pedigree to live up to.
From the moment Ebb And Flow comes blasting out of the speakers it's clear it has nothing to do with the Judith Owen song of the same name as it isn't smooth jazz. Instead, it's a good blast of fuzzy guitar rock.
They then slow things down and sit in the desert for the Kevin Ayers-like Give Me a Ride. This has that hazy laid back 'strum till you find the right chord sequence' kind of thing and then just goes for it with a bit of a thing for that stranger in the blue suede shoes. Dreaming Of Trains is quite echo-laden and does remind me a bit of Silver Street by Nikki Sudden musically if not lyrically.
Less than Tomorrow is a late night plea for love to sip bourbon to while wondering what Mazzy Star song it would follow on a cool romantic playlist. Smoke Trails is a modern, Western Trails country rocker and it boasts a pretty cool tune. Fucked Up Again sounds like it is an old Jazz Butcher song and is really cool and needs to be heard a good few times.
Hoodathunkit is kinda like some of the Miracle Three's rockier songs circa Tick Tick Tick. It has a great dirty groove underpinning it and some great little keyboard bits that come in every now and then. Claret Blue doesn't sound like it's about Aston Villa's disastrous season but instead it's about not having regrets with vocals that sound a bit like Scott McCaughey to me. I know they aren't, but still it's a great tune.
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Departure Lounge Blues is a cool quiet song; a fond goodbye to whoever gets left behind every time they go out on tour. The background strings are a nice touch to add to the feeling of the sadness of leaving. Trams Trains and Aeroplanes is obviously the next part of the tour as they are all used to transport them back to the love story they want to be a part of. There's a little bit of an Age of Miracles feel to it.
Somewhere Else is sung in a very Nikki Sudden-style drawl as they yearn to be at the next stop of the tour or somewhere else. The album closes with Floods Of Memories, which is like an old Neil Young song from the early 70's. It's very laid back and a nice way to end a very cool and playable record that you'll want to listen to a good few times.
Find out more at Rummage Music onine
Mark Mulholland online
Cannery Row Records online
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