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Thanks to Paul Turley’s lithe guitar playing and fine singing by Paul Muir, Albany Down deliver a Thunder-esque sound, at the heavier end of the blues-rock spectrum, sometimes with an AOR nous that echoes (in a good way) Bon Jovi.

Again produced by Greg Haver (who has worked with the Manic Street Preachers), the band hit the mark from the get-go with Feeding The Flame, Do You Want Me Now and Mr Hangman, only misfiring on the self-consciously funky Supersonic Girl.

The middle order flags a little, but Albany Down work hard to expand their horizons with a smattering of keyboards (by Manics sideman Nick Nasmyth), strings (great on the bluesier Like A Bullet) and brass (perfect for Look What You’ve Done To Me and its ‘woah-oah-oh-oh’ chorus). Better still, they end big as rhythm section Billy Dedman (bass) and Donna Peters (drums) go Zep-tastic on I Need You, then ease Sing Me To Sleep into a Beatles-style fade-out.

Albany Down issue Feeding The Flame video

Freelance contributor to Classic Rock and several of its offshoots since 2006. In the 1980s he began a 15-year spell working for Kerrang! intially as a cub reviewer and later as Geoff Barton’s deputy and then pouring precious metal into test tubes as editor of its Special Projects division. Has spent quality time with Robert Plant, Keith Richards, Ritchie Blackmore, Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore – and also spent time in a maximum security prison alongside Love/Hate. Loves Rush, Aerosmith and beer. Will work for food.