Angela Perley and The Howlin' Moons - Homemade Vision (2016)

If I didn t know any better I would have thought that this was the great lost Kirsty MacColl Country album if I d not had the record sleeve in my hands. If you are reading this outside of the UK or you are under 40 years old; the divine Kirsty was the Princess of Pop between 1980 until her tragic death 20 years later. Her songs straddled Pop, Folk, reggae, Indie and Alt. Country; before it even had a name and she had a singular sound all of her own ..until now.

Angela Perley has a similar edgy; self-confident sound to her voice and the way she lives out her songs; songs that are probably Alt. Country in origin but with a spiky and punky edge to them.
White Doves opens with a heart stopping bass line before Angela s breathless voice slides in and oozes out of the speakers like a warm Summer breeze. The song itself often threatens to become a Rawker ; but Angela and guitarist Chris Conner manage to pull it back from the brink on every verse. A pretty hot way to start any album.

A couple of songs later, Perley s voice sounds both vulnerable and sexily smoky on Your Love; leaving me with a funny feeling in my tummy, as the band strike a strutting Rock and Roll is here to stay pose in the background.
For me, this album has come totally out of nowhere; but is actually Angela Perley s second and all of the songs here are self-penned; showcasing an exciting new talent at the dawn of a career; try Leaving; which sounds like a cross between the Cowboy Junkies and Chrissie Hind after a night on the hard stuff; and later I Don t Want to Be Your Fool is Garage-Pop at it s best, and would have been a Top 10 hit in the 80 s if it had been on Stiff Records; yet sounds as fresh as a daisy today in 2016.

Homemade Vision is an absolute blast from start to finish; and choosing a favourite is like looking into a basket of puppies and being forced to pick the cutest; but it s a challenge I always set myself and have laboured between the sweet and Summery Dandelion Kisses and the kick-ass Green Eyes with it s stomping beat, crashing cymbals, fiery guitar and Perley singing her little lungs out just for me.