Aussie blues musician and Irish born folk singer Hat Fitz and Cara‘s debut album ‘Wiley Ways’ is the type of album you are immediately comfortable listening to. The husband and wife duo have something quite unique to offer, a decent blues rock album. Opening track Power contains a great instrumental intro but, at just over 4 and a half minutes, it runs too long and feels derivative of what they manage to actually achieve with the rest of the album. Hat FItz’s growling vocals are powerful old time folk-blues and Cara’s voice hangs in the polar opposite, smooth and flowing.
Title track Wiley Ways is good toe-tapping blues, the singing pair’s vocals complimenting each other perfectly. Hat Fitz and Cara seem like a band that are even better live and with a support slot for Jools Holland coming up, you can probably presume so. They are also playing a few Irish dates in July (more details here). Hat Fitz’s sounding particularly good on Company Underground. Hold My Hand starts out with Johnny Cash style plucking, mixed with the timeless blues vocals of Hat Fitz and the folky vocals of Cara. The duo use their contrasting voices to great effect.
Stand out tracks Red Rattler and Company Underground showcases their old time blues vibe, sounding particularly good. If you like Seasick Steve, you’ll love these guys.
Trish Keenan
