Road Music

Although it technically came out earlier this year, it's only since Independent got their hands on the album that Road Music can now be deemed to have a proper release in this country, and with a distinct chill entering the air, Grand Drive's warmth is definitely welcome.

Given that Road Music comprises three limited edition, limited budget singles plus some unreleased material - all recorded on the hoof - perhaps Road Map would be a more appropriate title, as it offers fascinating hints as to where Grand Drive might be headed without taking the listener on the full journey.

Formed around the Scottish-born/Australian-reared/London-based brothers Julian and Danny Wilson, Grand Drive prowl a patch of Country Soul previously patrolled with aplomb by the first incarnation of The Flying Burrito Brothers, a place where the Wilsons' plaintive, ingeniously intertwined harmonies cross with a rhythmic skill and instrumental suss (most notably in the organ/piano area) which recall the glories of the Muscle Shoals house band.

'Jukebox' and 'Farewell To The Past' clatter along at an invigorating clip (and wouldn't have sounded out of place on Golden Smog's forgotten classic Weird Tales) but it's when Grand Drive drop the pace that they cruise most effectively, as that's where the Wilsons' voices really soar.

'Undone', '5th Letter', 'Falling Out' and 'Shadow Of The Man' are immaculate, reminiscent of the bruised, bleary-eyed ballads Gram Parsons and The Stones specialised in during the early '70s. This is music written with love and performed with real feeling. And those vocals!

It wouldn't take a genius to figure out how songs like this would go down in a venue like Whelan's, so we can only hope that there's a visit forthcoming as I've a feeling in my bones that Grand Drive might just make Wilco and Whiskeytown look like pretenders at their own game.