Album Review: Stompy & The Heat - Stompy & The Heat

Throw open the windows and kick open the door. You'll want it turned up to 11 for this sordid album of honking guitar riffs, deadly accurate rhythms, and barnstorming, blues-tinged rock'n'roll. You might not be immediately familiar with the name Scott Wilson, but the writer/producer/guitarist from ARIA Award-winner Dan Sultan's band (among many other projects) has stepped out of the shadows with his new band Stompy & The Heat and their self-titled debut album.

Enlisting Pete 'the Heat' Marin (also from Dan Sultan's band) on drums and Front End Loader's Bow Campbell on vocals, this trio have delivered a record dripping with sweat, sex and good times. The sound is raw and uncomplicated, not deliberately fitting into any genre but simply ploughing into your ears. Songs of Mongolian warriors, zombies and, um, heartbreak in outback Queensland fill the album's ten tracks, as well as a rollicking version of Merle Haggard's Honky Tonk Night Time Man.

Country licks on Don't Tell Me That She's Gone battle the guttural blues of Here Comes Stompy, while The Last Wave forms a breezy, instrumental conclusion to the record. Ostensibly played by the three-piece, Stompy & The Heat features a number of guests, including Gina Woods (piano/organ) and double bass maestro Ken Eavel.

There is no room for error on Stompy & The Heat. In fact, there's barely room to catch your breath. Despite the fact that the album steams in at a bit over half an hour, it never seems rushed. With the quality of personnel on board, there's no doubt that Stompy & The Heat would deliver live. Meanwhile, this local album deserves to be front and centre this summer.