THE LUCKY STRIKES are another band in the current burgeoning Thames delta music scene hailing from good old Sarfend and coming on for much of this excellent album like an Essex version of The Waterboys.
'The Exile And The Sea' is their fourth album and is very well played indeed; full of great songs, the best of them including The Beast Burnt Down wherein they sing about watching Southend Pier burn down. Seeing this sometimes magical pier over a mile long always boasting it's the world's longest pier burn down for some of us was a tragedy. For me personally, it meant a large part of my childhood fell into the estuary. This is as fitting a commemoration of that event as you could wish for.
'The Exile And the Sea' keeps us down in the wilds of Essex and further out. I love the tale they tell in The Butcher and Mrs Shaw: one of those songs whose lyrics need to be listened too and then you can marvel at how cool a song it is.
In many respects, for me, Ballet Shoes is the best song on here. It's a bit slower than the rest of the album and there is a poignancy that really works and makes me want to play the song again and again. I have done this many times since I got this album, this review being somewhat overdue. If the wonderful playing on The Devil Knows Yourself has them sounding like the estuary's very own Buffalo Springfield then the lyrics will worm there way into your brain pretty quickly. It's another gem, well worth hearing.
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On the whole this is a very enjoyable album that has stood up well to being played over and over again. If they come and play live anywhere near you they are one hell of a great live band too!
The Lucky Strikes online
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