Ramblin Bones and His Bloody Agents

If they already hadn't won me over with their album, and fun interview - we forgive you for being late Ramblin Bones, rock stars and all - I was resolutely smitten by the trio's performance at the Sky Bar at The Granddaddy Hotel last Saturday. What a great intimate spot for this band. Heard live, the songs really take on a life of their own and the band are such great entertainers that, for a sit-down acoustic gig, one's focus hardly ever wonders from the performance.

They are uniquely and recognisably South African without sounding forced or twee. In fact, the whole album and band, for that matter, are so free from pretence and poserdom that you just want to give them all a great big bear hug, link hands and play Ring Around The Roses. It's an album that comes across as three good mates just jamming and having fun; it lacks polish, but that's how it should be.

Noteworthy tracks include:

• Aptly titled first track Sail Away, immediately sweeps you along with its swelling violin and sweet lyrics. A lovely feel-good road-trippin' tune if I ever heard one.

• When I'm With You, is equally happy and sweet, and must go down as having one of the best lines: "When I'm with you I quote Mandela."

• I Saw Him, which turns up the tempo a few notches with some forceful strumming and fast paced vocals.

• What Have I Done, which has great quirky lyrics and is a cracker to see performed live.

• Baboon Moon Rising, which is a full howley journey of a track. Aawhoooo!

• It All Comes Down To This, which hints back at Ramblin Bones previous releases, which have a tongue-in-cheek political/social commentary and ends in wonderful strummy crescendo.

• Since You Left Me, is one of the best post-break-up songs ever. Angry and funny. "Since you left me I've been listening to lots of death metal in the bathroom, nobody complains."

http://ramblingbones.com