Talking Elephant 2026
The Perry Vale Sessions
Rockabilly-peddling Englishman takes the listener to the cleaners to purify their psyche.
At first glance, there’s nothing natural in this South-East Londoner’s affinity for grassroot rock ‘n’ roll, but dig deeper and it will turn out Chris Marksberry was born in Columbus, which explains a lot about his ability to harness the Northwest idiom. Arriving in the immediate wake of 2025’s “End Of The American Dream” that introduced the artist to the world, “The Perry Vale Sessions” may seem to suggest, on a titular level, a work-in-progress state of affairs, yet there’s nothing undercooked here. Quite the contrary: the heat is on from the start of the platter – only the initial passion should prove a simple simmering because the entire emotional scope of this musician’s fervor and the full spectrum of his vigor as a warbler and multi-instrumentalist are revealed further on down the road.
So don’t get fooled by the sepia bleakness of the performer’s sophomore effort’s cover and let his true colors come to the fore and hit you straight between the eyes – at least, that’s what opener “Bolt Of Lightning” does once the sounds of thunderstorm give way to Marksberry’s twangy guitar and booming voice, the roar of his organ fleshing out the delicious slice of primal gusto. Chris can hold his horses for the catchy “Noon Day Gun Salute” to add not only country swing and smile to his delivery, but also mandolin and harmonica to the number’s arrangement, yet “Restitution” picks up the Appalachian jive Arthur Crudup and Carl Perkins would approve of, before the piano-splashed “Moonshine” removes retro vibe in favor of contemporary sheen. However, all this won’t prepare the audience for the majestically raw-nerve balladry of “Let’s Ride” where the Briton’s honey-thick vocals inhabit a nigh-symphonic space and show him in a completely different light – as a player of a major league, whose feelings are bound to blow through the hardest of hearts.
Yes, Marksberry would rather enter the Mark Knopfler terrain on “Hippy World” to invoke the images of rock legends, from Jagger to Nicks, than allow strangers to look into his own soul, yet the groovy “Razor Love” makes up for such a guard via its finely layered, if still rough, rhythm-and-blues passages, and while “Pretty Little Irish Belle” sees Chris head for a hoedown and have some unfettered fun, “Gun In My Hand” finds him cinematically defensive again. And then there’s a brace of final pieces of this puzzle: the brass-caressed “Mama (What’s Become Of Me)” that’s relentless in its dance-inducing intensity, and the sweet, strings-drenched serenade “Slow Down Time” that offers an orchestral uplift to bring the album to a cathartic close.
For all the variety of moods on display, “The Perry Vale Sessions” resolves into a staggering record.
*****
