Merry Hell's 4th album features 13 tracks of joyous folk-rock from the 8-piece based in the North West of England. The album features their trademark fusion of passion, energy and melody along with a lyrical content that manages to be both overtly political and intensely personal - expressing hope that togetherness in the face of an increasingly austere environment will bring positive change on individual and societal levels - and there's some humour and fun in there as well.
"Bloodlines" is Merry Hell's fourth album release in five years, a most impressive output by any standards, but especially so when you consider the quality of their work and the fact that all of their material comes from within the band. Indeed, they are blessed with an abundance of songwriting talent in the form of three members of the Kettle family, Virginia, John and Bob. This latest album also features excellent writing contributions from fiddler extraordinaire Neil McCartney and keyboard player Lee Goulding.
Merry Hell, emerging from the ashes of The Tansads, deliver an energetic blend of folk rock from the North West. Now into their fourth album, their enthusiastic identity is once again captured on ‘Bloodlines’.
I’ll stick my neck out and say that Wigan-based band Merry Hell just has to be a prime contender for the accolade of the nation’s premier folk-rock band at the moment (pace Oysterband/Fairport/Steeleye fans!). It rose out of the barely-cooling ashes of 90s folk-punkers Tansads around six years ago, after a series of serendipitous right-place-right-time Tansads reunion concerts.