Duck and Cover – The Pasadena Recordings
Heptown Records HTR045 [2009]
Pick Up My Heart – The Way You Look At Me – Funnel of Love – You Sound So Angry – Lovestruck – One Tear Away – Time Has Forgot – Squarehead Boogie – I Can’t Stop Leavin’ You – Wall of Shame – Window Shopping – One Way Love – Fight or Flight – Lonesome Train
Duck and Cover is a Danish band consisting of Johanne Mortensen on vocals, Peter Knudsen on electric and steel guitar, Paolo Molinari (who was in the first lineup of Nekromantix) on double bass, and Lars Ole Nielsen on rhythm guitar. They traveled from Denmark to Pasadena to record the album under the guidance of Wally Hersom. Wally also played double bass on a couple of tracks, and Pappy Stuckey provided extra help on drums for five tunes.
The album includes eleven self-penned songs, mostly by Peter Knudsen, with two contributions from Paolo and one co-written by Johanne. Additionally, the album features three classic covers: Hank Williams’ “Window Shopping,” Wanda Jackson’s “Funnel Of Love,” and Johnny Burnette’s “Lonesome Train.” Their repertoire spans hillbilly boogie, hillbilly swing, rockabilly, country ballads, and Hank Williams-style music ( One Tear Away sounds very similar to Cold Cold Heart and Fight or Flight has the same haunting feeling, especially on the steel guitar, you can hear on Ramblin’ Man). Mortensen’s vocals are reminiscent of Brenda Lee, with a slightly less convincing performance on straight rock’n’roll numbers like “Lonesome Train.” Overall, it’s a good debut album presented in a well-designed digipack.
Fred “Virgil” Turgis