Troy Redfern - Invocation (2024) Hi-Res

As anyone who’s seen Troy Redfern playing live will know he’s an excellent live performer. The band is streamlined and there is a no-nonsense approach. He’s also one hell of a charismatic front man, engaging with audiences as he sings plays and commands the stage. Over the last few years that has started to come through on his recordings. It’s no surprise then that on “Invocation” he elects to stick with the production team that delivered “The Wings of Salvation” with Dave Marks leading the production team.

The feeling that this is an important release is apparent even before you hear the record. The flamboyant colourful covers of previous releases have been replaced by striking black and white portrait. Redfern glowers from cover pinkie finger all dressed and ready to play some slide guitar. The only break from the intensity of his gaze is his name in a striking splash of Barbie Pink.

Of course, what really matters is what the album sounds like. Well, it’s a winner. This builds on the previous two albums and throws some blues voodoo over it all to produce an album of different moods and styles.

The first two tracks lean into a very glam minded place. “The Strange” and “Getaway” both have some melodic slide guitar. “The Strange” opens the album. It’s a smart choice. This is Troy Redfern 2024, familiar but better, improved. It has the sort of stomp that Slade and the Sweet would have loved, but it’s harder. There’s grit here that was never present in most glam records. “The Getaway” will already be familiar to some having had a pre-album push. There’s a theme of rebirth running through this track and a smart lick played on a 60’s Teisco guitar that holds the whole song together.

For about ten seconds “Van Helsing” sounds like it might be channelling Seasick Steve as it opens with a brief segment on a resonator. And then it all kicks off. I think this is possibly the heaviest I’ve heard Troy Redfern. The guitar playing is amazing as Troy sings about “Everybody wanting something to get them through this life.” It’s a great hook and chorus and on first play this was the track that caught my attention the most. Big shout out to Paul Stewart too on this track. He gives his drums a good solid pounding and pushes the song along, driving the tempo with some superb playing.

Things change a little on “The Calling”. The pace drops allowing space for some excellent soloing and long guitar notes, held to the point of begging for mercy. The song makes the most of its quieter spaces, stretching out and letting the players show some subtler touches. It’s a highlight of the album and a song that grows every time you hear it. It talks about how we are hooked into technology these days and feeling the need to get away from that. The protagonist yearns to be free and living in the wild, with nature and community rather than with electronic devices.

“The Native” sees the album changing tack again. It sounds like it comes from a deep southern swamp. Paul Stewart’s drumming sounds somewhere between Native American and military marching drill beats. It’s evocative and the lyrics fit in with the searching of wastelands for something new. The mid song solo is excellent, notes spiral into the air. Gradually the track drifts away to the low hum that it came in on. If any track was used to conjure the “Invocation” of the albums title I wouldn’t be surprised if it was this one.

“The Fever” has been kicking around for some time, having been released in early 2023. We’re back to the glam bop on the drum. The song’s chorus sings about being held down but it’s quite the opposite that’s happening here as Troy Redfern lays some stylish guitar work all over the track. The belief in his ability washes through this track and it’s catchy as hell. Quite understandable why it was the first taste of what was to come.

Rushing from the speakers like a bull out the gate at a rodeo “All Night Long” is hard fast gritty rocker. It must have been hard not to put this in as the opening track of the album as it grabs you attention from the off. If this isn’t a live set mainstay for years to come, I’ll be very surprised.

The pace changes again as “Blind Me” slows things down. Probably to allow the listener to get their breath back after “All Night Long”! The harmonies on this track are pitched just perfectly. Musically it’s another showcase for Troy Redfern’s guitar playing. Slow long notes and economical playing dressing the song up just enough and not overwhelming it. Yes, you could call it a power ballad but it’s a gritty and dirty and broken love that it takes us to.

Do you want some blues? A pinch of rock ‘n roll? A tale of seduction by a temptress you can’t resist? Okay then, “Voodoo Priestess” is all yours. It’s another catchy song with a chorus that will stick in the ear and stay there. It’s a rocker that doesn’t linger and that just makes you want to play it all over again as soon as it finishes.

There’s a toughness to “Take Me High” that might be odd given that it’s a song about the first rush of excitement that comes with new love. While it is upbeat it drops the pace from the frenetic energy set up in “Voodoo Priestess”. The slide guitar is given a much dirtier sound than on previous tracks.

Fittingly “The Last Stand” is the last track. The song gives you exactly what it says on the tin, a tale of revenge. The protagonist will take down the bad guy or die trying. It’s another song that uses space and air to let the song breathe. It’s lugubrious, twisty and evokes the mood that makes you think Clint Eastwood will slink around the corner in his poncho, cowboy hat brim low throwing shadows over his eyes and a cheroot hanging from his lips. Theirs an element to the sound here that brings to my mind Def Leppard on their more experimental “Slang” period tracks.

Releasing three albums in three years isn’t normal in the current music world, but that is exactly what Troy Redfern has done. What makes it impressive isn’t the volume of music he has released but that the quality of the music and the performances has grown over the time from 2021’s “The Fire Cosmic”, through 2022’s “The Wings of Salvation” to 2024’s “Invocation”. There not a wasted moment on the album and that’s full credit to Troy Redfern, David Marks (Bass, Keys, Percussion) and Paul Stewart (Drums).

“Invocation” is a resounding success. It’s an album of varied moods, tempos, and stories. There isn’t a single track on here that wouldn’t slot seamlessly into Troy Redfern’s live set. I don’t know what sort of “Invocation” he used to conjure this album up, but it must have been a powerful one. Hopefully though it didn’t require him to sell his soul to a yellow eyed demon at a crossroads.