John Fairhurst - Hungry Blues EP

Hungry For More

Wild Wigan bluesman John Fairhurst [he may not be all that feral, but the image I’ll post, the growling vocal and actual home town are supportive of the alliteration] turns out five self-penned blues stompers on this EP. Opener Up On The Hill reminds of Beefheart, and second The Snow Lies Deep of Broughton, so this also adds credence to the rawblues image. That said, acoustic tracks like I Don’t Know present a folk-blues tone – the voice still appropriately coarse – and the simplicity of guitar, harmonica [both Fairhurst] and drums [James Breen] reflect a strong traditional base to his writing and performing. Closer Hungry Blues has fine acoustic blues slide and picking – supported by the Hungry Blues Choir and producer Alex Beitzke on harmonium.

I’m keen for more and looking forward.