The Bandits - And They Walked Away

While the Coral are the public face of Liverpool, it's the Bandits club night Bandwagon at the Zanzibar in Liverpool which has been one of the main factors behind the resurgence of great bands heading out the city. The likes of the Stands, the Basement, the Hokum Clones and the Zutons have all played previous night there and next month they take the event over to New York as part of In The City and as part of the rapidly expanding Bandwagon World Tour. Up until now though the Bandits as a band have been a mixed proposition with critics split and singles often being hit and miss.

"And They Walked Away" is an album that somehow hangs together despite previous criticism and is very telling of the time. Unlikely to win the band any new fans it seems that the Bandits are at the crossroad between the eclectic bands such as The Coral and The Zutons and on the other side The Stands and The Basement. Still playing up to the Spaghetti Western image it's on previous single "Once Upon A Time" where this is a most obvious, but you can imagine the sun setting and the cowboy riding into the distance on "Wake Them At Sunrise" and a horse back chase on "Hung Or Hunger" it seems the connection runs deeper. "Take It And Run" is a good old knees up in the salon with beers being cracked open and maids slapping their thighs. In other places they touch on reggae ("Chaos In The Courtroom") and driving rock & roll ("On My Way").

It might not go down as a classic debut album, but it's a step in the right direction and next time they might just strike gold.

Alex McCann

**********
Post your The Bandits reviews / comments on the Message Board
**********