There was a time when the music scene in South Wales, and in particular Newport, became synonymous with punk and Rock ‘n’ Roll, terms such as the ‘New Seattle’ were thrown around like confetti at a wedding. However, under the raucousness there emerged a wealth of talented songwriters, such as Tim Manning, the man behind Country/Americana band Blind River Scare who emerged along with a host of songwriters based in Newport.
Following up from the 2017s successful Pastures New, Tim got the band together again for a new full album The Mileage Made, a collection of 11 life-affirming songs that will resonate and have everyone singing them for a while to come, I’m still humming One Horse Town and Too Much On My Mind! There’s certainly echoes here of Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, not to mention a nod to Hank Williams, all used wonderfully in a wealth of storytelling that help bring these songs to life.
With a vast array of great Welsh music, it’s often easy to lose track of the great artists out there who do what they love with the music and genre they love, and this love is what shines through in Tim’s writing on The Mileage Made, this is truly high-quality songwriting from start to finish. Supported by accompanying band Jem Ponsford, Paul Ambrose and Mike Hopkins, The Mileage Made stands as one of the finest albums from Wales I’ve heard for a long time, and an album that should be heard along farther shores.
- The Mileage Made by Blind River Scare is available on Creosote Records (£10.00). To order a copy go to blindriverscare.bandcamp.com
Tom Stanger
Founder and Editor of Pilgrim House, currently undertaking a research degree at Bangor University and working on a book on Folklore and early Welsh Christianity. Tom’s other work on music, poetry, health along other writings and images can be found at tomasstanger.com
