With Monsters And Gods (LP)

With Monsters and Gods’ is The Hillbilly Moon Explosion’s sixth album, and certainly their best. Who knew that rock’n’roll could still be so thrilling … and musically diverse? The band are quite an online and vinyl phenomenon, boosted by the ‘My Love For Evermore’ single, a duet with Spark Phillips of Demented Are Go, who also guests on ‘With Monster & Gods’. Tattoos of ‘My Love For Evermore’ have become a thing, with dozens of fans comparing photos on the band’s Facebook page. At least 30 cover-versions add to the nearly seven millions of views of the song’s viral video on Youtube, and the 7” vinyl sold out a remarkable seven pressings. Last in the UK in 2013, they straddle genres with ease, playing divergent gigs such as the Jazz Café, the Punk Rebellion Festival, Boomtown Festival, and as guests of the Swiss national team at the London Olympics. Their European tours embrace ten countries and this Spring they set out on the road again in support of this new album. A half-English 4-piece hidden away in the unlikely habitat of Switzerland, they’ve honed their craft without distraction for many years. Searching for the right sound they’ve previously recorded in San Diego, Camden and Tooting, but for this album they went back to the local Swiss studio where they made their early rockabilly albums, allowing more time to get it spot on. The line-up is chanteuse Emanuela Hutter, Oliver Baroni on vocals and stand-up bass, Duncan James on guitar and Sylvain Petite on drums; ‘With Monsters and Gods’ is also embellished by Oliver’s latent piano skills. The esteemed Pete Thomas provided saxophone, he also played live with the band alongside Geraint Watkins on keyboards on their recent European tour.