Madeline Christy reviews The Wandering Hearts’ indie tour at Billericay’s Slipped Disc record store.. Catch Tara and Chess on the podcast here for a BTS exclusive at the making of the deluxe album and what to expect from their next album.
Following the release of their deluxe album ‘Wild Silence’, British Americana band The Wandering Hearts are taking to local record stores to promote not only their love of vinyls, but also their love for fans far and wide. I had the chance to catch the newly announced trio last weekend at Billericay’s Slipped Disc Record shop and coffee house.
The shoe box store was full to the brim of families and teens anticipating the arrival of members Tara, Chess, and A.J. When speaking with some of the fans, some had been following the band since their C2C debut in 2017, some had caught the band as Marty Stuart’s opening act last year, and others were regular coffeeholics wanting to see what all the buzz was about.
Before the acoustic performance began, the members had the opportunity to meet their Thurrock fans; signing vinyls, taking selfies, and of course, talking about the new added tracks to the deluxe edition of Wild Silence. With the whole coffee house buzzing, the band took to stage (or more specifically, the shop floor) to perform their first track, the first song that the band had written together; ‘Fire and Water’. Not only a great tune to get everyone’s toes tapping, but also the best song to hear Tara and Chess’s exemplary harmonies, and AJ’s powerful yodelling (a section of the song that we all admittedly have attempted to match at some point).
Firing into the next song, Rattle, the trio’s new replacement for guitarist Tim Jones played a strong folk riff while the trio stomped their feet. Though the band never intentionally decided to be an Americana band, their style surely fit the part; both Chess and A.J wore thick felt hats with more rings than fingers, while Tara wore a silk scarf through her hair.
One of the new tracks you’ll find on the deluxe edition of the album will be a live recording of ‘Wonder Of You’. When introducing the song, the band stated how it was an accidental recording; ‘While on tour with Marty Stuart, we had done a show in Graceland, and of course, while in Memphis, how could you not do a cover of Elvis’ said Chess. A.J continued to say that ‘Marty Stuart’s show was beginning recorded but we didn’t realise that our set was also being recorded, so when we heard the song we just thought it would make the perfect addition to the deluxe’. The original recording had Elvis perform with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, however The Wandering Hearts version sounds much more romantic stripped down. It’s certainly not the group’s first nod to Elvis, their debut album included songs in which they escaped the ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, and were called the ‘Devil’ in disguise.
Conversing in a huddle of which song to choose for their encore, the group decide to close their set with their latest single ‘Till The Day I Die’. A powerful love song that tells the take of high school sweethearts, full of Marty Stuart influenced mandolin and energy, the band left everyone on a high, and are heading next to Chess’ neck of the woods on their Indie Tour.
Catch the band on their indie tour at:
Rough Trade West, London 08/02 @6pm
Gatefields Sounds, Whitsable 23/02 @2pm
Vinylstore Jr, Canterbury 23/02 @5pm
