Dirty Strangers: West 12 to Wittering

Apr 12 2009 by Daniel Smith, Sunday Mercury

DIRTY STRANGERS

West 12 To Wittering

(Track)

wTHE Shepherds Bush bar-room barnstormers return with a swagger that would have done The Rolling Stones proud. But wait, what’s this? A glance at the sleeve notes finds Adam Clayton’s R&B rebels joined by Keith Richards on piano and Ronnie Wood on guitar. This is a joyous explosion of sound rooted in rhythm’n’blooze but delivered with post-punk energy. The likes of Talk To Me and Real Botticelli are immediate, while Gold Cortina and Survival Dance are what Arctic Monkeys might have done in an earlier era. Listen out, too, for veteran Joe Brown – on banjo! PC