We're blessed with some amazing blues-rock artists at the moment, and I mean specifically here in the UK. Our excellent US blues rock cousins aside, we can quote the likes of Rebecca Downes, Chantel McGregor, King King, Xander & The Peace Pirates, Tom Killner, and many many more. And now we can add one more blues rock duo to the roll call.

Not that Doris Brendel and Lee Dunham are completely new of course! Doris has been making music for decades, and her partnership with Lee goes back a long way as well. But as a duo, they have mostly produced experimental, prog type albums that I am sad to say we here at RRO had not come across (don't worry, we're on it now!), but we've played songs from Doris here and there in the 15 years we've been around in one guise or other. Then a month or two ago, Doris sent us a couple of songs from an album she promised would be a 'surprising turn' to a blues vibe, bringing her dusky Elkie Brooks style vocals and Lee's 'I can turn my axe to anything' excellent guitar playing to something they just, apparently, felt the need to do.

And boy, are we glad that they did do just that.

'Big Blue Sky' is an album that draws on many blues motifs, including that blend of blues and proper late 60s/early 70s soul music that shines across many of the tunes on offer here. But, and here's what's key, they then take those motifs and add a modern blues-rock edge to the proceedings, delivering a unique experience. It's not the out and out blues-rock of King King, nor is it the old blues guitar style of say a BB King, but the album delivers tunes that are cheeky and flirty on one end of the spectrum- Slow Wifi Weekend & Cold Coffee Blues for example, and seriously soulful on the other- Red Letter Blues and Today's The Day as examples of that. In the middle of the spectrum there are nods to old style blues, guitar blues, blues rock and all updated to a modern sound and musical presentation.

I've had the album on rotation since I got back this morning and I can see three of us here on Revolution Radio playing songs regularly across our shows- The Baron (aka me), The Trooper and our newest DJ Black Dog. But I am nabbing Red Letter Blues, Satin Row, Hold On, Today's the Day and Big Blue Sky first for my shows! There's no point in being the boss if you can't have some perks!

Now, earlier, I compared Doris's vocals to Elkie Brooks, and it's a comparison that's been given by other reviewers over the years. But Doris has a voice that has more melody, more range, able to sing rock and prog and pop and blues without seeming to struggle at any time, and it simply drips with soul on the excellent 'Red Letter Days', singing over a gorgeous guitar riff and under-current solo from Lee. And the inclusion of a piano/keyboard loop that is straight out of that start-of-the-70s soul sound (y'know, artists that were recording somewhere between 60s Motown and mid 70s funk eras) is sheer genius. It may well be my favourite song on the album. And the album is full of great songs.

It would also be criminal not to acknowledge Lee Dunham's beautiful and versatile guitar work on this album, whether it's the guitar blues riff of 'Satin Row' or the soulful clean note picking in 'Red Letter Days' or the more traditional blues motif on 'Today's The Day', this is a man who clearly knows his guitar.

If you're looking for a great modern blues album, then look no further. 'Big Blue Sky' is out now from Sky-Rocket Records in digital, CD and vinyl formats and you can get it from https://dorisbrendel.com/store !

You won't be disappointed.

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