The Bookhouse Boys: Tales To Be Told

London noir bumps into American Gothic.

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Aptly named after the secret society in David Lynch’s surreal small-town noir Twin Peaks, The Bookhouse Boys’ second album takes the Americana Gothic blueprint from their eponymous debut and dramatically amps up both tension and heaviness

To borrow a quote from the beloved Ann Widdecombe ‘‘there is something of the night’’ about these mini-melodramas and murderous torch songs.

Paul Van Oestren’s voice (beautifully complimented by Catherine Turner’s haunting counterpoint) possesses a richly nuanced authority: at times channelling Nick Cave, at others Richard Hawley.

Languid Link Wray-esque surf guitar sprawls across Morricone and Mariachi infused Tarantino soundtracks all fortified by a powerful eight-piece band coming on like a pissed off Arcade Fire discovering heavy metal.

Impressive stuff.

Tim Batcup

Tim Batcup is a writer for Classic Rock magazine and Prog magazine. He's also the owner of Cover To Cover, Swansea's only independent bookshop, and a director of Storyopolis, a free children’s literacy project based at the Volcano Theatre, Swansea. He likes music, books and Crass.