Grady Hendrix – “Witchcraft For Wayward Girls” (2025) Review. 3/5

This review was originally posted at Goodreads on 14/09/2025

As he admits in the acknowledgements, a childless middle-aged man like Grady Hendrix is not the person you would expect to take on a novel about wayward girls, the name given to women who became pregnant outside of marriage in the days before abortions became legal in the United States in 1974. That said, as a childless, middle-aged man, I’m not really the kind of person you would expect to be reading a novel on that subject. However, despite having been a fan of horror novels since my teen years, I had yet to read any of Grady Hendrix’s work, despite having heard his name via various horror fiction podcasts over the years.

“Witchcraft For Wayward Girls” follows a group of girls who have been sent to Wellwood House, which has been perfectly positioned out in the wilds of Florida for parents to hide their shameful family secrets. This being the 1970s, attitudes are such that it doesn’t matter that most of these girls are under the age of consent, or that their pregnancies may have come from rape, or incest or abuse or a broken promise, it is considered their fault. Miss Wellwood and the team at the home make sure they are kept well aware of this and they are forced to work to pay for their upkeep and they are fed only a diet that the supposed doctor on staff permits and only then if they have obeyed all the rules set out for them.

The girls often rebel, but Fern and her new friends Rose, Holly and Zinnia, are encouraged in that by the travelling librarian, Miss Parcae, who sneaks them a book on witchcraft. Having tried an easy spell to get rid of Zinnia’s morning sickness and giving it to the doctor, they seek advice as to whether the book and the craft can help them further. But when you make an agreement with a witch, there is always a price that has to be paid and the girls start to have doubts. The cooks at the home, Hagar and Miriam, know a little something about how to deal with witches, but if they thought Miss Wellwood and her staff were making their lives more difficult, Miss Parcae is even more insistent and even more demanding.

Considering what he had written, this is a novel that has far more about the wayward girls than it does about witchcraft and it feels in many ways that he only added in the witchcraft elements to hang the story he actually wanted to write from. In some ways, the novel reminded me a little of the style Stephen King tends to use, in that there was a lot of time spent getting to know and like the characters before then visiting nasty things upon them. But despite the unpleasant situations they were all in thanks to the attitudes of the time and of their families and the lengths the witches would go to, the most unpleasant scenes all happened in the birthing rooms and there were moments that left me feeling very glad to be a man.

But as good as parts of the novel were, there wasn’t a huge amount of horror here and the scenes involving the witches were little that hadn’t been seen plenty of times elsewhere. I have no idea whether many witchcraft rituals do have to take place naked, but Hendrix is the latest in a long line of male writers to depict them that way and there was a bit too much focus on what their breasts were doing, which felt a touch unnecessary. Ultimately, whilst this was a novel that had some decent scenes and was a brave subject matter for a male writer to attempt, too much of the novel was inconsistent and patchy. Perhaps ironically, given what had happened to these girls, the novel felt like two ideas which had been forced together against their will and I can only assume from this that Hendrix’s other novels are better constructed and more original than this one for him to have gained the reputation he has.

My Running Year 2026: Month 9

In terms of mileage, September has been a backwards step after a promising start. In terms of my mental health, September has been a backwards step after a promising start. And during my longest run for several months and certainly since I first started having issues with my iron levels, it proved to be a backwards step after a promising start. You may be noticing a theme here and although I was able to arrange a couple of things, about the only thing I can honestly say I made progress on was with my age, as my birthday falls in this month.

In early September, I had good reason to believe that the iron tablets I had been given were having an impact, as I had a quick parkrun followed by two club runs that were longer than I had tended towards and much faster, as I ran differently to the more social runs I spent much of August doing. Although I was tired afterwards, I didn’t have the same level of fatigue I’ve been experiencing for much of the last few months after any major exertion and this felt like progress was being made.

Shortly after this, things took a downturn mentally, as the list of tasks I had to do both at home and work became overwhelming and this causes significant issues, especially where it clashes with my autistic tendencies. There is a lot of planning required for an upcoming holiday as well as finalising issues from a recent car insurance claim. My work situation, which has always been busy, has become worse after someone went long term sick from a team that was already 1 fewer than required and has 1 more on holiday almost every day between now and Christmas although at least one of those is me on some of those days, so that has become extremely stressful.

Then, at the end of the month was our local Half Marathon, which I was entirely not ready for, as I hadn’t run further than 10 km for months and, as that was at the beginning of my health issues, I nearly passed out after that. But I had a fairly tough parkrun on the day before and was particularly drained during a walk around a car museum afterwards, with the amount of sneezing that suggested I had come down with a cold. Although I had taken a home test that suggested the course of tablets I was nearing the end of hadn’t restored my iron levels back above normal, it had been a little while since I had felt that fatigued after not much effort.

The Half Marathon itself started well and I was on a roughly 2-hour pace most of the way through the first half, whilst generally managing to hold a conversation with those around me. On the second major hill, which happens just before halfway, I was forced to walk for a bit, which I didn’t need to do last year and after that point, I never really got going in any major way again. Several people I would normally have been way ahead of were well ahead of me or came past me and I walked significant amounts of the course to the extent I was a full 15 minutes slower than the same course last year.

I also had the same issues afterwards that I experienced after some of my longer and harder training runs earlier in the year where I couldn’t handle eating. As we had a large meal booked afterwards deliberately because I knew I would need refuelling, this proved to be an expensive situation. The emotional downturn that went alongside the physical one, particularly the day after, was reminiscent of when my iron was at its lowest earlier in the year and this health downturn as well as the mental one has knocked my confidence needing to start a major marathon training plan in a few months.

I have blood tests booked to see if anything has happened with my iron levels and I have finally seen a physio and got exercises to work on a longstanding shoulder issue that has made me reluctant to do a lot of my morning fitness group sessions. But those things are a start and the holiday is getting much closer and having that done with and all the organisation and uncertainty that it has brought will help clear some mental space and may then allow focus on health and fitness.

Imelda May – “Tribal” (2014) Review. 4/5

Listening through Imelda May’s albums in order, you can see how much confidence she has gained as she goes. From the opening album which had decent performances, but seemed to lack a bit of heart, she has become a rockabilly Queen who gives her all to every note, both in emotion and vocal quality and is surrounded by a band who do the same. With every album, I go in wanting and expecting more of the same and it’s fair to say that she does not disappoint.

The album opens with the title track and from the opening guitar line, “Tribal” has a much darker tone than May’s earlier work. It’s still got that rockabilly feel and beat, but there is a slightly slower tempo and more of a punk edge to the guitar sounds and vocal delivery. The vocals are a little underneath on occasion, which is a shame, but this is full of May’s attitude and great voice.

Although the guitar notes are slightly clearer and less fuzzy on “Wild Woman”, the punk influence is even clearer. Indeed, there is a “Batman” theme feel to the guitar line which also reminds me of The Middlenight Men in places. Other than the harsher tones than we’ve been used to from Imelda May over previous albums, this is very much her style, with a direct rockabilly track that blasts through.

There’s a jaunty opening to “It’s Good To Be Alive” which carries through and the tempo is a touch slower than the previous songs, but the groove is much higher. This has more of a straight rock and roll feel than the punk edge of the earlier tracks and it’s closer in sound to her earlier work. When the jauntier beat is combined with a more positive lyric, this makes for a thoroughly enjoyable listen, even if it is a little difficult to do that without wanting to dance.

The guitar line that opens “Gypsy In Me” reminds me of Tom Jones’ “Delilah” in parts, as much in attitude as it does in sound and the song as a whole is dark and discordant down tempo moment with a feel of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. It’s a vast direction change from the previous song and Imelda May’s usual sound, but it’s wonderfully atmospheric, perfectly suited to a Winter evening when it’s dark outside and a fire is burning.

There is a return to the 1960s influence for “Little Pixie”, but after the previous track, it feels a little sanitised and lacking in emotion. This is a down-tempo song, which is perfectly crafted in every way, but ends up sounding like something you would have in the background rather than actively listen to. It both sounds and feels like the music you would hear over the speakers in a shopping centre or restaurant and it feels out of place and disappointing on an album with so much attitude.

The title of “Hellfire Club” promises more attitude and the opening guitar line delivers from the start. There isn’t much of the punk sound from the earlier tracks, but this is up-tempo and up-attitude rockabilly music that I’ve come to associate with Imelda May over the course of several albums. The vocals are slightly underneath the guitar in places, which is a bit of a shame, but it’s a more then decent tune.

“Five Good Men” takes the previous song, turns it up a little, both in terms of tempo and noise and throws it straight back. It’s one of the shorter tracks on the album, at a little over 2 ½ minutes and it’s got a “blink and you miss it” feel, as there’s barely a pause for breath at any point and when it stops, you know something has happened, but you can’t quite figure out what it was.

There’s a little more of a beat to “Ghost of Love” that reminds me of the opening to “Hooked on a Feeling”, particularly as emphasised in “Guardians of the Galaxy”. But once things settle down, this is another decent mixture of blues and rockabilly with a jaunty little mid-tempo beat, although some of the guitar work feels a little choppy and the backing vocals don’t quite seem to fit and the number of vague musical hints makes this feel more like a concept than a completed song.

There’s a wonderfully dark and seductive feel to “Wicked Way” which reminds me a little of the Dr John version of “Season of the Witch” from “The Blues Brothers 2000”, but with a seductive jazz backing underneath. At this point, May is a woman who it would be a bad idea to get closer to, but who you absolutely cannot resist and this is a track that is more compelling than it is enjoyable.

After being hypnotised on the previous track, “Round the Bend” wakes you up from the opening notes, with the up-tempo rock and roll coming straight in. This one seems to fall between the influences, as at some points if feels like straight rock and roll, but there are some underlying harder tones underneath that come out occasionally, but it’s another piece of enjoyable up-tempo musical, perfectly played and performed.

Given that some of the earlier songs have made you want to dance, one titled “I Wanna Dance” has a tough act to follow. Once again, the guitar line has a feeling of an old-school superhero show theme, so it makes me want to run and jump more than it does dance, but that might just be me. There are elements that remind me of some of her earlier albums as well, with the bouncy rockabilly beat present throughout and it certainly makes you want to move, if not dance exactly.

The album ends on “Right Amount of Wrong” and it’s all right and no wrong, with a swift up-tempo and upbeat blast of classic Imelda May rockabilly to bring things to a close. Indeed, it’s so close to what I have come to expect from Imelda May over the course of the last three albums that it’s strangely unremarkable, as perfectly performed up-tempo rockabilly with a great punchy beat and perfect, slightly raspy vocal is just what she does.

Although it did feel there were a couple of weaker moments amongst the 12 tracks and 40 minutes that make up this album, there was also a lot of very good rockabilly music. Indeed, it was when May stepped away into a more punk edge or brought the tempo down a little that things felt a touch less effective. It may be that, like her first album where she was less in control of the material, there wasn’t quite the same belief and familiarity with the sound of those songs as with the ones that matched her earlier work a little better. But no amount of those moments call into question the fact that Imelda May does not make bad albums and she hasn’t done so here, either.

Nature Valley Crunchy Canadian Maple Syrup Granola Bars Review. 3/5

Although I tend to like cereal bars as snacks for running purposes, some of them simply aren’t suitable for that. Some aren’t suitable for all conditions, like the Cadbury’s Brunch bars and some Eat Natural and Tracker bars which have chocolate and get very messy when it gets too warm. Some aren’t easy to eat without water due to being too crumbly or too dense and some, such as Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, shouldn’t be opened in polite company.

The bars come in packets of two, each of which is around 3 centimetres across, half a centimetre high and 6 or 7 centimetres long. With oats making up 60% of the ingredients, it’s no surprise that all you can see when you open the packet are two dense golden-brown bars in which you can only recognise oats as an ingredient. However, unlike the oats and honey version, these are far more aromatic, offering the slightly burnt caramel smell that always comes with maple syrup.

With the bars being crunchy, there are always crumbs when you open a packet and the bite is incredibly hard, such is the density of the bars. Indeed, they are so compressed, that even if they were chewy bars, I suspect there would be a very dense bite to them. They certainly crunch under your teeth, after the application of some effort and they taste the way they should, as the maple syrup taste comes through very strongly, and despite knowing they are oats due to how they look, the only taste of them is a slightly oaty hint in the aftertaste.

However, what you most need to consider is how and when you’re going to eat one of these bars, as in addition to being hard and crunchy, they are incredibly dry. The maple syrup does enough to the taste to make them edible, but it adds no moisture and so you really need to be in a place where you have a drink to hand and, if you plan to break them apart by hand to save your teeth, you need to be in a place where you can sweep the crumbs off yourself afterwards.

But for all the mess and the need for water, a pack of these bars is 195 calories, which is a fairly decent amount for a snack. In terms of using them for exercise, they do help to replenish sodium and they are very high in carbohydrates and fibre and a decent source of iron. Unfortunately, a lot of the carbohydrate comes from added sugars and they are also high in fat, so many of the benefits are questionable. Whilst these are a tasty snack, they are difficult in many important ways, with the effort required to eat them being a major negative for me above all else, including how tasty they may turn out to be.

Brighton & Hove parkrun Review. 5/5

As far as choice goes, you can find virtually every kind of parkrun within the boundaries of Brighton. Within one city, there is one of the flattest parkruns around in Hove Promenade, not far from one of the hilliest in Bevendean Down, both offering views of the English Channel, but from very different perspectives. But there is also history to be found, with Brighton and Hove parkrun being one of the earliest parkruns in the country, being one of the ten that existed when they were still known as “time trials” before the parkrun name came into use.

Located at Hove Park, this is one of the parkruns in Brighton where you can’t see the water, although the tennis courts in the park are bright blue. Although the park is just off the A270, it is in a residential part of Brighton, so there is no official parking other than on residential streets and some nearby business parking which may have restrictions on the length of stay. However, there are plenty of bus routes which run nearby and Hove station is a short warm-up away and the main Brighton train station is also within walking distance, although that is a longer walk.

Aside from the parking, this is a classic parkrun, as it is all on tarmac paths, with one slightly shorter lap followed by two longer ones. There are a couple of slight inclines around the course and you do need to stay to the right hand side of the course at the end of each lap, as the finish funnel is off to the left and there is the possibility of being lapped. What there isn’t the possibility of is needing trail shoes, as whilst the tarmac may get a little damp and possibly a touch icy in cold weather, there isn’t any part of the course on any other surface.

Aside from parking, there is everything you could need in the park for afterwards, as there is a café and public toilets very close to the start and finish area. Being in an long established park, the toilets are showing signs of age and aren’t the most pleasant of places, but the café is much nicer. The only downside to the location is that due to the location within Brighton, anywhere you may want to go in the city afterwards is a little way away, so it’s one to combine with a longer visit which, with a place as lively as Brighton, isn’t a bad idea anyway.

“Within the Wires: Season 9 – Audiobook” Podcast Review. 3/5

After every season of “Within the Wires”, I wonder how they can possibly keep the quality up. Every season has been an object lessons in how to put together an audio-fiction podcast, but considering the self-imposed limitation of having a single cast member, I am stunned by every new season that the quality of both production and presentation, as well as the writing and imagination, has not dropped over all this time. Although I fear that each season must finally be the one where the long streak of success ends, I approach each one with eagerness, as experience has proven that it’s not happening yet, so many times over.

This ninth season, which is subtitled “Audiobook” was released over 10 weekly episodes between October and December 2024. Each episode ran between 16 and 22 minutes, which gave a total running time of just over 3 hours, which makes it the shortest season of the podcast, being about 10 minutes shorter than Season 8, which was itself shorter than most of the previous seasons by at least 15 minutes. Although the 10-episode season length and the end of the year release schedule have become settled over the previous seasons, the episode length here tends a little shorter than most, which have tended more between 10 and 25 minutes apiece.

The audiobook is of a children’s textbook, “An Interesting History of Our Times” and being recorded by Kat Waterford, who is an actress who formerly worked on children’s television. On her first day in the recording studio, Kat is annoyed to discover that she will be working with Claire, who in additional to being her producer, is also her ex-wife. As the recording continues, she gets even more annoyed when both the writing and text change dramatically and she has to work with a new producer, although neither of these situations last long and Kat switches between recording, production discussions and personal chats, as she seems to remember why she and Claire were once a couple and then they discover why they aren’t any longer.

It has been clear from the very start that the “Within the Wires” universe is one that has departed from our own timeline in a significant way, not unlike that of Gilead in “The Handmaid’s Tale”. Thanks to the book and the introduction and changes, we get to hear more about the world than on most seasons up until now. But even allowing for this, there is a love story encompassed within, as the emotional rollercoaster than Kat and Claire go through over the course of a few days of recording is immense and the emotional peaks and troughs are huge, often between one sentence and the next and Robin Virginie’s voice switches between emotions at the flick of a switch and the double core of being a voice actor playing a voice actor must adds an extra layer she coped with perfectly.

However, for me, this was the worst season of “Within the Wires” because for the first time, it stepped away from being a series of monologues and recordings for a third party to be listening to and became a conversation between Kat and Claire and, for one episode, her replacement. What made this worse is that they didn’t write both sides of the conversation and what you heard back was a vague burbling that was supposed to be words, in much the same way as some of the Charlie Brown cartoons. After eight seasons without hearing another voice on the recording, it felt that if the story was going to abandon this principle, it should do so completely by having those words properly audible, or leave that part of things out completely.

This is a rare mis-step for “Within the Wires” and, having waited for so long for something to be anything less than perfect on the podcast, it comes as quite a shock that it has arrived through a questionable production choice. In every other aspect, the world-building, performances and the imagination behind the concepts and the story, it remains as strong as ever, but I do hope that future seasons follow the majority example rather than this one.

“Zog and the Flying Doctors” (2020) Review (Film Only). 5/5

At the end of “Zog”, Princess Pearl and Sir Gadabout had decided that rather than being a Princess and a Knight, they would rather be doctors. Likewise, Zog decided that he would like to go with them and act as their ambulance. Knowing that a story can’t be allowed to end on a cliffhanger like that, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler wrote and animated, and the BBC later adapted, the what happened next part of the tory, “Zog and the Flying Doctors”.

The three of them fly around helping the animals and residents with their medical conditions, like a lion with a cold, a sunburnt mermaid and a unicorn with an extra horn that keeps getting in the way. But when they attempt to shelter from a storm in the palace of Pearl’s Uncle, the King, he kidnaps her and insists that she acts like a Princess and not like a doctor. None of them are happy with this arrangement, so Zog and Gadabout try to rescue her, whilst Pearl alternates trying to escape with the occasional opportunity to use her healing skills, until duty calls in the form of family.

The animation is, as usual, heavily based on Axel Scheffler’s original illustrations, but this is an unusual book in that the majority of the main characters are human. Given that the animation is very simple, they achieve a great deal of emotion on the faces, even with the enlarged features and although the action scenes are limited in scope, they work around this well by having most of the slapstick happening off screen and only showing the aftermath.

Indeed, the story is so detailed that it’s one that seems to be aimed at slightly older viewers and readers than much of Donaldson’s work. However, the authors do not neglect their core fanbase and so there are plenty of moments of sheer slapstick humour, as whilst Zog may have graduated from dragon school, he isn’t the best at landing. He remains very clumsy, so there are plenty of moments where Zog and Sir Gadabout bump into each other and have accidents and pratfalls.

Most of the voice actors from the original adaptation of “Zog” have returned and I still love Lenny Henry’s narration, as he has a big, rolling but friendly voice suitable for the tale and Patsy Ferran is suitably serious as the doctor, but never losing her heritage as a Princess. Rob Brydon is present as usual and unrecognisable from his normal speaking voice as the King, but the main change is the introduction of Daniel Ings as Sir Gadabout, who didn’t feel quite so strong in voice as before.

This was one of my favourites as the story seemed to be aimed at a slightly older readership than most, but it was still packed with little details. With any of Donaldson and Scheffler’s work, you can keep an eye out for characters from her other books and the snails from “The Snail and the Whale” are here and there is always slapstick for the very younger viewers to stop them getting bored trying to follow a story that might be above their level, but this is one I can see me returning to as comfort viewing when I’m not well or otherwise needing something to pick me up a little.

Holly Brickley – “Deep Cuts” (2025) Review. 4/5

This review was originally published at Goodreads on 09/09/2025

Much to my wife’s confusion, I rarely read in silence and often have music playing in the background. But although I love music, I generally like what I like and don’t have massively strong opinions about the quality of other music. Indeed, listening to music is the only talent I have and although I dabble in occasional writing, I’m better with prose, as I’m not very good at writing a bridge and I have not talent when it comes to singing, I can’t play an instrument and, even if I ever wanted to be, my tone deafness would probably put paid to any efforts quite early on in the process.

In some ways that makes me similar to Percy Marks, one of the main characters in Holly Brickley’s debut novel “Deep Cuts”. She loves music, but has no talent for playing it, but she does have a talent of talking about it and giving opinions. When she meets Joe Morrow in a college bar and he plays her one of his songs for the first time, she knows he deserves to be a star and that she can help, but she will always be admiring him, as both man and musician, from the sidelines and will never be an integral part of his life.

The novel follows Percy as she tries to make a living from writing, mostly for other people, but also for herself. She watches as Joe and his band release hit records and have fame, occasionally from the crowd, but usually from a distance and their lives intersect on an irregular orbit, often ending with songs, less regularly ending in sex and nearly always ending in an argument that will result in them not speaking for ages and revenge music being produced. This is the story of two people who can’t be together, but can’t resist each other, either musically or physically and the music that brings them together will also prove to be a massive barrier between them.

This does make “Deep Cuts” a frustrating read in places, not because of the writing, but in the way the two of them can’t get things together. The writing, by contrast, came together very well, as Brickley has an eye for lyrics as well as for prose, so the songs worked in terms of rhyme and meter and some of the prose writing had a poetic beauty behind some of the lines that could take your breath away, combined with the imagination to weave them into a story. It was only when Percy was getting a little too strident in her opinions of music that it seemed that the author was getting in her own way a little and those parts did take some of the momentum and story away for a moment.

For someone like me who enjoys reading to music, the novel of “Deep Cuts” and the accompanying Spotify playlist are the perfect combination. Fortunately, the music crosses genres and generations, as much of the music of the novel isn’t my preferred genre and the era the novel is set in isn’t my formative years as it was for the characters and, I suspect, the author. There are moments here that aren’t quite in keeping with the rest of the novel, but they stick out largely because what else is here is so wonderful. From a musical, emotional and fictional standpoint, this is a beautifully crafted novel and I hope that Brickley’s “difficult second album” is quicker and better received than that of her fictional band.

“Gotta Get To Nashville”

As a fan of country music and having watched my whole way through the “Nashville” TV series, the city became synonymous with success in that genre. So when I came up with an idea for a song on the subject, it could only be about Nashville.

Trucker at the side of the road
Says “where you going, son?”
Said “Mister, well I really can’t say
I just gotta run
I’m looking for somewhere I can go
My guitar in my hand
Looking for a place to call home
And maybe join a band”

He says “there’s only one place that you can go
At least it seems to me
Country boys with guitar and soul
Do well in Tennessee
I can’t take you all the way there
But you’ll be on your way
When you make it and your name is in lights
Look me up someday”

So now I know where my road leads
Gotta get to Nashville
(Gotta get to Nashville)
Gotta get to Nashville
Tennessee

Waitress at the diner next day says
“What can I get for you?”
I said “What I need you cannot supply
‘Cause I ain’t got a clue.
You could bring me coffee and pie
That would be fine by me
But whilst the sugar will make my life sweet
That ain’t what I need.”

She says “Don’t let the grass grow under your feet
Don’t be standing still
If you don’t make your own dreams come true
Then no-one out there will
Here is not a destination for you
Or that guitar at your feet
Make sure that you are just passing through
And then come back for me

I can see where you’ll find your dreams
Gotta get to Nashville
(Gotta get to Nashville)
Gotta get to Nashville
Tennessee

Passerby who aims a coin at my hat
“This ain’t the life for you.
You’re too talented for street corner songs
So what you gonna do?
Pick up your guitar and your case
Head on down the line
Keep going until you find your place
For your star to shine
“But what happens when I finally get there
I ain’t got a clue
I know the place where I need to be
Not what I should do”
He says “Knock on every door you can find
Knock them down if you need
Show them everything you can do
Even if you must scream”

This is how my dreams can come true
When I get to Nashville
(When I get to Nashville)
When I get to Nashville
Tennessee

Fat cat in the ill-fitting suit
“I won’t take a chance
This is not the place you come first
You only come here last
Find some people who love all that you do
Then come back to me
If there’s enough of them to make it worthwhile
Maybe then we’ll see”

Bouncer at the door to the show
“Players round the back
Unless your name is on the marquee
You don’t come in like that
But I have heard you playing before
And this door’s for you
You’re don’t walk straight past me tonight
But maybe someday soon

Now it’s time that I pay my dues
Now I’ve got to Nashville
(Now I’ve got to Nashville)
Now I’ve got to Nashville
Tennessee

Plan B – “The Defamation of Strickland Banks” (2010) Review. 4/5

I came to Plan B a little backwards, as did most people, thanks to the relative success of this second album “The Defamation of Strickland Banks” to his debut. Considering how conservative a lot of record companies are with styles and genres, wanting to preserve their investments, the massive departure from the first album in terms of both style and idea was a brave move. I was initially attracted to an album that moved a little further away from just rap content, but became more interested by this being a concept album, something we don’t see all that many of these days, based around the rise and fall of the fictitious Strickland Banks.

The album opens with “Love Goes Down”, which is a massive departure from the sound of the first album, as it’s a soul-pop song and entirely sung. It’s got a gentle groove that evokes back to the 1960s soul classics with the brass and strings and whilst Plan B’s singing isn’t up to the same standards as you normally get from the great soul singers, it’s a more than passable opening.

There’s a bit more funk in the guitar that leads “Writing’s on the Wall”, which brings the song up tempo and a decade forward in time, as well as giving it a but more attitude. Once again, the singing is a slightly weaker point than the music and the writing, but the influences are clear enough and there are far worse songs around and the slowed down section towards the ends the song on an emotional down note.

There’s more of an indie-pop feel to the guitar line in “Stay Too Long” that wouldn’t be out of place on a band like The Killers, although the soulful backing vocals possibly put it more into the late 1970s glam-rock era. The rapped section early on does suggest it’s designed to have the more recent influence between the two, although the genres don’t mesh together entirely flawlessly in places, although the energy and anger that the song ends in takes the story in a whole new direction, suggesting that the messiness of the song is on plan.

The funky opening to “She Said”, allied to the falsetto vocal, reminds me a little of a Mark Ronson track and there’s a reference to “Valerie” part way through that adds to that feeling. The strings add an emotional vibe that help support the lyrical idea that this is the turning point and the album is about to head to a less pleasant place. The rapped section advances the story more clearly than the sung lyrics on this occasion, although the transition from rap to singing is a little clunky.

It seems appropriate that an indie-style guitar should open “Welcome to Hell” and the beats and music have a much darker feel. There is a soulful vibe underneath it all that belies the desperation of the situation in the lyrics and the song develops into a soul and Gospel influenced track with quite a jaunty beat that offers an optimism not shared anywhere else through the song, as if the realisation hasn’t quite sunk in just yet and the brave face is still showing.

There’s a dark opening to “Hard Times” which features funk and strings, but the former has a darker note and the latter add a mournful edge, which is helped by the lyrics and the vocal delivery. This is a song with all the elements of a classic soul tune, with the scratchy effects added to imitate a record and although the vocals aren’t quite as good as you expect from songs of that era, it’s a decent enough track.

There’s a surprisingly upbeat and up-tempo turn to “The Recluse”, which once again works despite being in opposition to the lyrical content becoming more isolated. After a slightly discordant and messy string section, there’s a dark rap section with an indie-pop backing in places that offers a much better musical approximation of the mental state depicted in the lyrics and whilst the singing hasn’t been the strongest on the album, the concept has remains very well portrayed throughout.

The soul sound and the falsetto vocal return for “Traded In My Cigarettes”, as does a darker lyrical content, allied with a determination to survive. The style and sound of the song isn’t vastly different from “Welcome to Hell”, with the Gospel in the backing vocals and the soul throughout in the music, with a survival instinct running through the lyrics, with a fittingly emotional delivery.

The clashing and loud musical opening to “Prayin’”, which quickly segues into an up-tempo pop-funk vibe reminds me of Cee Lo Green, with the high pitched vocal also matching. Once again, the music provides a very interesting contrast to the lyrical content and it’s a shame that the music overpowers the lyrics a little, as it means you have to listen closely to realise that the prayer is one of redemption from a particularly nasty situation.

The beats are a little choppy and uneven for “Darkest Place”, as well as downbeat in tone, assisted with the discordant strings again. This is very much a companion song to “The Recluse”, both in the heavy rap style of the vocal delivery and the darker nature of the music. There is a lyrical comparison, as there is more isolation, this one helped by the guilt carrying over from the previous song on top of everything that has led here and it’s a darker and tougher listen than much of the album.

There is another hint of the Mark Ronson production style with the upfront and upbeat brass section that opens “Free”. The upbeat musical style is met with a more positive lyrical content, with the overall sound feeling a little like a parole hearing. Once again, the vocals are a slightly weaker link to the song as a whole, but it’s a very decent up-tempo and upbeat classic sounding soul-pop song.

After so much soul, the gentle folk-sounding acoustic guitar that opens “I Know a Song” comes as a shock. The gentler nature of the song, both in terms of tempo and sound allows for the more plaintive nature of the lyrics to come to the fore and, unlike on “Prayin’”, the music doesn’t overpower the vocals for the most part, although the strings do occasionally become a little intrusive, so you can get the full force of the idea.

The album ends by coming almost full circle with a re-trial on “What You Gonna Do”, which again combines the darker rap tones with a Mark Ronson sounding modern soul mix. Unlike on earlier songs, the transition between rapping and singing is a lot cleaner, although the harder tones on the rap section compared to the softer singing do reflect the decision that needs to be made, although the song ends with the question and not an answer, which is both infuriating and very nicely done.

“The Defamation of Strickland Banks” is a massive departure from Plan B’s debut album, but it works incredibly well. The 13 tracks and 50 minutes tell a story that has a few plot holes and is occasionally let down by the quality of the singing, but the concept and the overall sound remain very strong throughout. For an artist relatively new to the career at this stage, the massive change in direction and sound and the size of the concept mark a brave step but one which, to these ears, has been a risk well worth taking and the success of the gamble is plain to hear.