Diesel Park West - Let It Melt
DIESEL PARK WEST DROPS ‘LET IT MELT’
Leicester, England’s rock outfit Diesel Park West drop Let It Melt today, via Palo Santo Records, a collection of 11-tracks of innovative music from a band that’s been around for 30 years.
Diesel Park West
Singer-songwriter and guitarist John Butler says, “We’ve never lost the spark. We’ve never stopped writing, recording and gigging. We’ve never let the setbacks encroach on our creativity. We’ve only ever judged ourselves by the standard to which we are performing. And we’ve pushed on through.”
Made up of Butler, Rich Barton (guitar, vocals), Geoff Beavan (bass), and Rob Morris (drums), Let It Melt comprises music the band likes to play and listen to.
But explains, “We spent a lot of time in the old days being pressured by our paymasters on the major labels to do this, don’t do that. This album is simply made up of new songs that we like to play and more to the point, that we like to listen to. It’s almost as if we had to do nine albums to get to this starting point. And I’m not saying that in a flippant way. There’s a deep seam of truth in that statement.”
Diesel Park West started out on Independent Food Records, which was snapped up by EMI, simply to obtain Diesel Park West. The band’s first album, Shakespeare Alabama, accumulated high praise from the media and hit the 55th spot on the UK album chart. The band followed with six singles, all of which charted. Yet an immense breakthrough eluded them, as the major labels threw money hither and yon.
So the band went with an indie label, releasing Diesel Park West Versus the Corporate Waltz, via Demon Records, a scintillating album full of observations about corporate labels. During the ‘90s, the band kept touring and recording, even as Butler commenced a solo career.
The album opens with the title track, a bluesy-flavored rock tune full of raw thrumming guitars and a tight rhythm.
As a new century rolled around, Diesel Park West continued. “We’ve done a lot of hard labour since the days when EMI paid all the bills,” Butler acknowledges. “We’ve been breaking rocks since then. But we’ve stayed with it.”
Then, out nowhere, Palo Santo contacted the band, signing them for Let It Melt. Recording at D Line Studios in Leicester, Butler expounds on the process: “The vocals are all live. We kept the vocal tracks that went down with the drums, so they retain that energy. It’s better than having some producer making you sing it with the headphones on for the 23rd time. Somewhere around take eight you’re going to be losing it.”
Butler adds, “I don’t think we’d have been able to make a record like this at any other time in the band’s history. There’s something about it that is definitive of where we are now. Really it’s the truest album we’ve ever made.”
The album opens with the title track, a bluesy-flavored rock tune full of raw thrumming guitars and a tight rhythm. The track is vaguely reminiscent of The Rolling Stones blended with The Black Crowes.
Highlights include “No Return Fare,” which recalls Tom Petty, low-slung, kind of dark, yet contagiously electrifying. Butler’s voice infuses the tune with smoldering dark tones. “Everybody’s Nuts” delivers swampy blues textures, drawling vocals, and a tight rhythm.
“Bombs Away” blends exuberant Jerry Lee Lewis flavors with The Rolling Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown,” resulting in a tasty rousing concoction of visceral, glittering energy. Perhaps the best track is “Incredible Things,” simply because of its jangly Byrd-like guitars infused with potent dynamics, and topped by gospel-laced harmonies.
Let It Melt is excellent, full of surging harmonics, infectious rhythmic flows, and the tight, uncooked voice of John Butler.
