The Rulers Of The Root
Album: Porky Dreams
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 15
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rulers-Of-The-Root

The Rulers Of The Root are a Glasgow four piece are based round the pairing of Patrick Gillies and John Palmer. Gillies being a relative newcomer to the music scene yet taking on duties of vocalist, songwriter and general band contact, while Palmer seems to be all over the album; an established face in the Glasgow music scene, his mastering, mixing and engineering skills alongside those of drummer Chris Quinn means the intriguingly titled 'Porky Dreams' debut album has the whole band stamp of involvement and approval. Maybe the fact that the recording was done at Porky Dreams Studios is a bit of a giveaway however.

The many influences of Patrick Gillies (from The Kinks to Nick Cave to Steve Earle) are pretty evident in his songwriting and the variety of material on show all topped off with his gravelly, and to coin a phrase, world weary tones. From the skiffle-like rock and roll lo-fi opening of 'Cat Fur' and into the more straightforward country/Americana shuffle of 'Charlie', it brings to mind the old Notting Hillbillies project with which Mark Knopfler was involved with some while back.

The songs even stretch to touching on low key jazzy workouts, the experimental electronics and general weirder avant garde vibe in 'Elephant In The Room' and a lonesome ballad in 'White On Rice' - prog fans can possibly even imagine Roger Waters whispering his way through the latter - while throughout there are smatterings of shimmering guitar lines which wouldn't be out of place in a Morricone soundtrack. The two closing French titled tracks are as far as you can imagine from a Gallic feel; apart from some lyrical references, they offer up repetitive guitar figures alongside some remote female voices and a healthy dose of funk to close the album.

Overall, the slight compression treatment on the vocals gives the album what people might call an aged feel and all adds to the retro feel, combined with some interesting lyrics once you start to take note and listen more carefully. A value for money 15 track collection which spreads over almost an hour of immediate songs pushing its toes into waters which cover a range of genres.

Mike Ainscoe