Mog Stanley

It's been a while since Ralph checked out smooth indie blues man Mog Stanley (three years) and in that time he's been slowly but very surely composing an album of his unique bloozy styled tunes and he's called it Roland.

Preston based and armed with only a vintage guitar and home-made percussion box to keep him company, Mog Stanley uses an old-school, DIY set-up to stand out like the proverbial sore thumb with his catchy blues-fuelled and melody driven songs. He's about as Indie as you can get and Roland should be a stand-by in any blues fan's collection.

With thanks to trust a fox photography

There's a distinct left-field, rockier feel to Future House with Mog Stanley exploring his guitar hero bad self which leads nicely into the foot-stomping and bluesy Spinning Plates.

He goes off-base with the almost disturbing Lalala lala la la (A Bone Collector) with it's spooky chorus and disjointed almost manic guitar.

With thanks to trust a fox photography

U Turn has an Americana feel to it as Mog Stanley veers back to the more traditional and he continues in that vein with Red Yella Blues complete with his understated vocal and distinctive strumming.

He follows that up with the nicely choppy Bombscare and then slows it down with Enigma which has a distinctly 70's Wishbone Ash feel.

With thanks to trust a fox photography

Paperthin has an up-beat Americana vibe again (no bad thing) whils Like You Do reverts to Mog Stanley at his best with his smooth indie blues styling and the self-imposed backing adding an extra layer of goodness.

The album rounds off with a most excellent trio of blues tracks in Tricky Mouth Blues, Running In The Dark and Closer To Jesus - a blues infused joy!