Album Review: Blag Dahlia - "Introducing Ralph Champagne"

 

Veteran lead singer with the Dwarves, Blag Dahlia's decision to create a new country singer alter ego isn't exactly uncharted territory - from the Beastie Boys' Country Mike to Ginger Wildheart's infamous Howlin' Willie C**t, rock and punk history seems to be littered with people who've gone down the cornball (and usually gleefully offensive) country route for a laugh-a-minute side project.

I think the main surprise with Introducing..., especially given the Dwarves' penchant for blood, gore and thrash, is that it's a surprisingly straightforward effort. Oh sure, there's still an enjoyable lack of sensibility in some of the songs - Your Girlfriend and She's All Mine are gleefully foul-mouthed efforts that wouldn't have sounded out of place on the aforementioned Howlin' Willie album while Lolita Goodbye is about turning down a jailbait girl to start dating her mum instead and Horribly Wrong  manages to rhyme "Cheech without Chong" and "King without Kong". However, the likes of Contraband (which recalls Wednesday 13's short lived Bourbon Crow project), the atmospheric Summer Rain and the knockabout Nothing To Say are simple knockabout slices of old skool Johnny/Hank/Willie style country rock which are pretty enjoyable.

Introducing Ralph Champagne doesn't really pull up any trees but it's an enjoyable half hour slice of well-played and fun old school country rock. If you're not a fan of this sort of music then it's unlikely this'll change your mind but as we say up here in Yorkshire, it's alright for them what likes fun.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONG RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑🌑 (7/10)

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