The Texas Flood - Young Dogs Old Tricks (2014)

Where the inspiration for the band name comes from is obvious, but surprisingly the three guys from the Welsh port town of Port Talbot are much less bluesy than initially thought.

Sure, the blues can be heard as part of their brew, but it consists primarily of classic rock, which means that the trio's debut disc roars out of the speakers and also sounds extremely varied and entertaining. At home and in nearby Scotland, the three mid-twenties were already able to build up a decent fan base, not least by winning a young talent competition in Glasgow, which ultimately also brought them their record deal.

On their - almost programmatically titled - debut work, the boys go in the spirit of "Rock'n'Roll Old School" (in addition to their "godfather" Stevie Ray VAUGHN, references must of course also be made to AC/DC, THE BLACK CROWES or FREE mentioned, just to name a few essential ones) and with a lot of steam, but due to the sound-technical absolutely up-to-date execution they should be spared to be assigned to the "retro" department.

CONCLUSION: The triumvirate also proves to be beyond any doubt in terms of craftsmanship and knows how to provide casually swinging material and the right pressure. However, there is still a lot of catching up to do when it comes to the implementation of some song ideas and, above all, hooklines and compelling moments, if you want to get really, really high. You know what it's like if you want to get to the top in rock 'n' roll...