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Weighing in at 12 tracks in length and with a running time of 60 minutes, the fifth-studio album from Cornwall-based Wille & The Bandits might seem a daunting proposition, especially since we are constantly being told that we live in an era where the attention span of the average music consumer rivals that of a toddler ramped up to the max on blue Smarties. Fear not though, on ‘When The World Stood Still’ Wille & The Bandits have created an album of such stunning depth and variety that casual music listeners could be forgiven for thinking that they have stumbled on a Spotify playlist featuring several different artists lovingly curated under the title “Cool Shit We Thought You Might Like”.
Roots, Americana, hip hop, blues, funk, hard rock, and grunge might all seem like strange bedfellows but in the hands of Wille Edwards and his compadres, it all makes perfect sense… can you dig it? On ‘When The World Stood Still’ the playbook goes out the window, and it’s better to expect the unexpected rather than anything remotely resembling “by-the-numbers”. Opening track ‘Caught In The Middle’ is just one fantastic example. Think big-ass Rage Against The Machine-like crushing riffs (‘Bombtrack’) mixed with Arrested Development (‘People Everyday’, ‘Mr. Wendal’) and Black Eyed Peas (’Where Is The Love’) spoken-word hip hop, and lighter-than-light folk guitar-picking, then you are almost there. So much going on that it will make your head spin. Follow that with some gorgeous Johnny Marr ‘How Far Now’ shimmering guitar tones from Edwards on ‘I’m Alive’ (complete with lush three-way vocal harmonies), the sheer heartbreak of the 8-minute epic ‘Without You’ (which wouldn’t sound out of place on the legendary ‘Temple Of The Dog’ album), and the feel-good fuzzy slide of ‘Good Stuff’, and the end result is 23 minutes of music to turn a pigeonholer inside out with disbelief.
The more urgent ‘In This Together’ has Edwards channeling his inner Tom Petty, and at times – primetime Sting and/or The Police. Strong late-’80s early ‘90s vibe on this one, uber-light, and incredibly toe-tapping. The Hammon organ from Matthew Gallagher is king on the Southern rock-tinged ‘Will We Ever’, a track that will sound massive in a live setting, and given the lyrical theme of will live musical performances ever return to normality, an emotional track to boot. Fantastic playing from Edwards on this one, and that’s the common thread running through the album: the incredible guitar work from Wille Edwards. Whether it’s electric or acoustic guitar, dobro, or lap steel, this guy can play. The tones that he coaxes out of whatever particular weapon of choice he opts for are gorgeous. Even when he dials it back for the simple, free-flowing, and organic touches of the title track and the funkalicious, soulful grooves of ‘Move Too Fast’, the quality never dips, check out his cool licks on ‘Refuge’ and purr like a cat with the keys to the cream factory.
‘When The World Stood Still’ is the sound of a band constantly pushing the boundaries, pushing that envelope, pushing each other to come up with something different, and in doing so, putting pigeonholers out of business. Job done lads, job done.
Available now, more information (including all forthcoming live dates), here.
