One of, if not my favourite, albums of last year was The Union's debut. I seemed to be catching them everywhere, High Voltage, Sonisphere and their own Cardiff date, a very packed Clwb Ifor Bach on a midweek day. Now to the 'difficult' second album and attempting to carry forward the momentum of the first, which is never going to be easy as it was just a corker....

'Siren's Song' kicks it off, whisky-soaked acoustic strings and woodbine vocals (well not quite) but that's the vibe. The flavour continues with 'Blame It On Tupelo' - now any band that can get the word 'Fuck' onto both releases is just way too cool to be considered just a 'Classic' Rock band...Now I really like 'Orion', the next song up. I care not that if Dolly Parton decided to cover it, it would not lose an ounce of credibility. This is a 'wind down', sitting on the porch with a Smokehead whisky in hand, lilt, which I really warmed to. Marilyn Manson.....They've got a Manson riff and turned it into a great song, Pete Shoulder's smouldering drawl making 'Obsession' really work.

'Make Up Your Mind' follows where 'Come Rain, Come Shine' left off on the first album, just simply a lovely tune. 'The Remedy' gives up the best slide guitar this side of the Mississippi Delta and Robert Johnson's Faustian myth. 'Black Gold' gives us more straight ahead rock, with great 'soul sister' backing, really lifting the song.......Straight into a classic Sabbath feeling bridge, just great stuff! More folk feel to 'Time' and the word 'Folk' is by no means a disparaging word or a criticism, as this is a great, great song which builds and builds. To round things off comes 'If I Could Make You Mine', evoking thoughts of a smoke filled, basement bar with heavy red velour drapes and chesterfield couches, while Pete plonks away at the piano, cigarette side of mouth......Glorious.

Thunder who? 

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