>When I was very young – when, remember, Mars Bars were so much bigger, summers were hotter and it always, always snowed in winter – the new girl at school asked what snow was like.
After watching me perform the six-year-old equivalent of a spluttering “Whaaaa-aa???” gesture, she explained that her family had just moved from Oman, and she’d never seen snow. Now try, with mind of a child, to describe snow in a way that fully conveys the excitement, fun and finger-ruining coldness, without using the phrase, “It’s snowing! It’s snowing!” and running round in ever-decreasing circles.
If you want an inkling of how children must feel operating in an adult world, think of your favourite song, and then describe exactly why it’s so great. It’s tough when you need to get beyond, “It’s just… ace!”
So: Today’s New Band are Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, and they’re just…ace. Making the kind of gravelly, satisfying Blues that can only come from North America, Reverend Peyton has a voice of such barrelling intensity that mere humans cower in his presence. The Big Damn Band‘s songs pick themselves up, shake off the dust and spring immediately to clattering, shuffling, howling life.
Mama’s Fried Potatoes, swaggering, grunting and with more swing than seems fair, manages to be everything you’d expect and everything you’d want all at the same time. Your Cousin’s On Cops hops, skips and skitters; speeding up, slowing down and belligerently shoving Rev. Peyton‘s chunky rhymes into your willing ears. I’d Love You Baby is further proof of the band’s firm grasp on exactly what an audience needs – a song to dance to, a melody to sizzle in your brain and a subject to grab you by the groin, the heart, or both.
Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band has so much belief, fun and heart that you realise what rare commodities they are. If you like songs that’ll make – no, force – you to move at least one part of your body in time, then look no further than their rabble-rousing, good-time, heart-and-soul, all-or-nothing songs. Brilliant.
