Every now and then an album finds its way into my grubby paws and upon first listen makes me immediately wonder how this artist isn’t on everybody’s lips and in everybody’s playlist! Fighting words indeed but it goes to show that while the ‘music fans’ of the world are bending over backwards to see what perfume Beyonce is wearing or what heavily-publicised spat is being played out in the rap world there are serious musicians plugging away doing what musicians do; writing and recording music.
An artist’s music is often the culmination of their musical education, the music they heard growing up on radio, television, film soundtracks and advertising jingles and good old mum and dad’s record collection.
Well it’s safe to say that Ohio native Angela Perley’s mum and dad must have a killer record collection with influences jumping out from bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Bryan Adams (for some reason ‘Back In Town’ reminds me of Adams’ 80’s hit ‘Run To You’), Sheryl Crow and The Rolling Stones. She manages to keep a perfect balance between rock and country like an tightrope walker slowly negotiating and teasing the audience with soft country-tinged ballads like ‘Local Heroes’ and ‘Walk With Me’ but then lets loose with rock songs ‘Back In Town’ and the title track ‘4:30’.
The whole package oozes with class and maturity.
I would imagine most of the plaudits will go to Perley’s voice and songwriting or the deft guitar licks of producer Chris Connor that lift each song with thoughtfully placed moments but I’m going to point out another job Connor does here, namely being half of the rhythm section. He, alongside drummer Jake Levy have put together a steady and stable foundation without being flashy. Rhythm sections are often overlooked but if you get a bad one, they stick out like a rhino at a wedding, and this one ticks along wonderfully giving Perley a platform to tell her stories.
Revered BBC Radio 2 presenter Bob Harris has described Perley’s music as “completely outstanding” and, on this occasion, I have to agree.
Grab a copy!
