Riding into town on the back of a honky-tonk piano and a roughly strummed acoustic
guitar, ‘Teenage Blood’ could barely be more geographically distant from Tom Williams’
native Tunbridge Wells if it was backed by Fijian nose flutes, but whilst the instrumentation
might be more wild west than west Kent, the lyrical lamentations on the tribulations
of growing up and dealing with family, relationships and trying to live up to expectations
are much closer to home.
Anyone who was fortunate enough to sample the delights of The Boat’s debut album
‘Too Slow’ will find plenty of common ground here in the weeping violin, footstomping
drums and of course in Williams’ heartfelt vocal, whose world-weary tones would be
the pride of any seasoned troubadour. That’s not to say that the band’s sound hasn’t
progressed, and there’s plenty here to have us salivating over the prospect of their
forthcoming second album, also titled Teenage Blood.
