Album Review: Nick 13 - Nick 13

As a pioneer of the cowboy punk and psychobilly genres, it's no real surprise that Nick 13, of Tiger Army fame, would eventually bring out a country album to showcase a much lighter side to the vocalist. Each song features a typical country arrangements, the lightly strummed guitar decorated with hammer-ons on the opener "101" sets a scene of a quick escape in a car or on a train, accompanied by a muddy, heavily influenced Johnny Cash sounding lead guitar which is most prevailant during the solo. Countering this light hearted opener, "All Alone" features an upright bass introduction which sits behind of an off-beat guitar and a haunting pedal steel.

Obviously, with a change of genre comes a change of subject matter. Tiger Army's lyrics usually focus on The Afterlife, Vampires and Tigers alongside other science-fiction influences, the familiar influence of death is still apparent on songs like "Carry My Body Down" whilst some songs stray away from the usual Tiger Army subject matter which gives Nick 13 space to breath in his lyrics by fitting in the archetype of travelling and love into songs such as "101" and "Cupids Victim".

With the instrumentation a much broader range of instrumentation looming under his fingertips, Nick 13 writes conventional and interesting country songs, first time listeners may not think much of this record and may think most of the songs sound the same but fans of Tiger Army may appreciate it more as a small step away from the band. This self-titled debut is hopefully the first of many and is a complete regurgitation of the 1950s country sound that has been absent from our radio stations for quite some time.

4/5

'Nick 13' by Nik on Sugar Hill Records

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George Gadd