No Label 2024
Hanging On A String
Blues-wailing Québécois brings forth a mood-manipulating set of deliciously raw cuts that hit a nerve ‘n’ run away with it.
It’s almost impossible to believe that Steve Hill, young as he may look, has been recording for more than a quarter-century – for more than half of his life – because the prolific Montrealer manages to always sound vigorously fresh. He’s veered away from the formula which became the title of 2018’s "The One Man Blues Rock Band" on two follow-up albums, yet “Hanging On A String” finds this performer on his own again, bolstering the style-defining guitar-and-vocal raucousness with rough ‘n’ ready bottom-end groove. However, there’s a lot of sonic contrasts in his frequently frenetic delivery to turn what can be perceived as aural onslaught into broad spectrum of sentiments – arresting in terms of tune and approach.
Starting with the “Oh Well”-smelling riff of the platter’s titular number, Steve pulls his audience towards a sacred, and sometimes scary and scarred, place where incendiary licks, blistering solos and inspired singing are suspended between emotional heaven and hell, the heavy insistence on moving forward denying the listener any excuse to hang about or stand still. So even after “Devil’s Handyman” slows the flow down to serve up a creepy menace and then sculpt the player’s roar anew by applying an engaging melody to its serrated edge, one is not prepared for tentative twists that lie ahead, and the hectic merriment of “Show Ya” and the sweet-sweat shuffle of “Maggie” only up the rock ‘n’ roll appeal Hill’s fingers spring on the punters who don’t expect such a surprise. Of course, for every lighthearted piece there’s a slice of gloom too, and though the ultimate darkness will descend on this album on the cover of “When The Music’s Over” which forms the dread-filled and relentless, if fittingly impressive, finale, the hefty mini-epic “World Gone Insane” offers a similar blend of mellifluous dirge and metallic attack to bemoan the state of current affairs via Steve’s infectious bark and catchy drumming.
But while “You Know Who” seems a tad aloof, its chorus feels angry enough to spark the same response in the crowd, and while hard-hitting “Turned To Dust” barely restraints the Canadian artist’s angst, a memory of how “my girl” morphs into “my guitar” is apt to linger longer than any other agenda. So yes, a string should provide a risky support, yet six strings are a safety net Steve Hill’s eager to propose to his flock.
*****
