Alex Haynes & The Fever – Howl

20-01-2022

UK blues artist Alex Haynes draws influence from the '60s British blues boom, '50s R&B and Rock 'n' Roll, and blues artists such as RL Burnside, John Lee Hooker and Jessie Mae Hemphill. As a live performer he has supported artists including US R&B legend Geno Washington, UK bluesman Big Boy Bloater, blues/dance act Alabama3, and one of the all time greats, Bobby Rush. Born and raised in Leeds, West Yorkshire, he moved to Newcastle upon Tyne to study Music Production. He played acoustic blues and folk in its cafés and bars, before heading south to spend over a dozen years in the capital, where he formed his band Alex Haynes & the Fever. In late '15 he returned to the North with a move to Sheffield, South Yorkshire. His self-released debut in Jan '11, "Last Train" was followed by the album "Bandit Blues Motel" in Dec '14, and third release, "Howl", released on Appaloosa Records in March '18. With frequent appearances in the UK and Europe, having played across Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and in Amsterdam and Moscow. He has appeared at festivals such as the Salaise Blues Festival (France), Red Rooster (UK), Blues River (Italy), and the Vintage Weekender (France), and until recently, also held a longstanding solo residency (over seven years) at the Blues Kitchen Shoreditch, London. Referred to as one of the best blues voices in the UK, singer and guitarist Alex Haynes cut his teeth playing acoustic blues in the north of England and released his debut EP "Last Train" in January 2011. "Howl" fully confirms its qualities : a writing style that draws on old-school blues as well as Chess and Sun Records r & b and 1960s British Blues, a dry and essential execution that mixes the fundamentals of the genre with an approach definitely rock and roll. Now at home in Italy. Alex (vocals, guitar and percussion) is excellently supported in these recordings mixed in London and mastered in Sheffield by Fever aka bassist Alessandro Diaferio and drummer - percussionist Pablo Leoni. A whiff of Chess Chicago Blues filtered through a rock lens with psychedelic touches and explosive bottleneck slide... Blues which is still able to surprise, not too swamped with respect, however respectful it is of the masters. Alex Haynes is among the most valuable exponents of the British blues and his band The Fever represent a powerful and tough combo that, with a variety of sounds, keep it dynamic and extremely varied. 'Howl' brings us back to the golden days when music was full of a great inventiveness, that not only blended blues with rock but also with soul and gospel in a constantly searching way that was always stimulating. His style embodies the primitive spirit of the down home blues, mingling with the soul of Chess and the R&B of the '50s. A hard and strident sound, that seems to invoke the hypnotic, swampy blues of Mississippi, whilst approaching the sound of Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker. But Haynes with his Fever, a tight and energetic band, expertly adds to this mix an originality in the music. The full and sensual voice of Haynes, tinged with soul and whiskey, along with his intriguing, rootsy guitar style is a sound that crosses the different facets of the blues and with songs close to the sounds of the past yet re-styled with taste and energy, make 'Howl' a tantalising album, performed with style and vitality. Flickering with a beat last heard in the most dirty and genuine of the early-'60s English bands. Shifting from John Lee Hooker and Elmore James, to the hill country blues of RL Burnside, hypnotic blues boogie drifting into '60s psych. Flickering with a beat last heard in the most dirty and genuine of the early-'60s English bands. Shifting from John Lee Hooker and Elmore James, to the hill country blues of RL Burnside, hypnotic blues boogie drifting into '60s psych.

1 Nervous 3:40

2 I'm Your Man 3:04

3 Howl 5:26

4 Shake It Up 4:02

5 Lonesome Shadows 5:37

6 All I Got In This World 3:31

7 Bad Honey 3:19

8 Solid Sender 4:18

9 From Time To Time 5:38

10 Shed My Sin 6:57

Bass - Alessandro Diaferio

Drums, Percussion - Pablo Leoni