REVIEWS

THE ALBUM

Barry Hawk's collection on this album has combined old and new sounds. He has a great imagination for melody lines and also a fantastic vocal range. This is demonstrated in each upbeat and memorable number! Having spent a lot of time abroad in New York, Barcelona and Denmark, Hawk has led various line ups of his band Wonderland. Collaborating with his band mate Keith Moss, here he has achieved a very original music style that pretty much crosses genres. This music would attract a wide cross section of age groups and music lovers. I immediately felt myself being brought back in time to Bowie, T Rex and good old fashioned Glam Rock at it's finest, whether this was intended or not! Barry has managed to infuse some numbers with a mainly acoustic flow, plus a couple of songs with hip hop influences. Variety is the spice of life! And there's plenty on 21st Century Bluez. Mentioned in his influences are artists such as Prince, Jeff Beck, The Stones, CSNY and Michael McDonald. His repertoire definitely has the same musical punch as these fab names.

by Angela Macari, Music Review Unsigned, Aug 2011

LIVE

BARRY HAWK & THE VULTURES

Following on from the example of the mariachi band before them, BARRY HAWK AND THE VULTURES also operate as a band minus a drummer, but substituted with a drum machine. While you can't beat a good drummer, it doesn't mean you are at a loss if you use a drum machine either. And boy does it work, as evidenced by exhibit A on this one. Flowing into the amazing from the green light that signals go, this band were dropping the beats and bring the funk all the way. And the reason for that was "DJ" which is what marks these guys out as a serious band to check out. Just from the first song this band worked their mojo and didn't drop the head either or the very high standard that they set. Next up was "Download Me" which has a subtle undertone of the RHCP "Suck My Kiss" lying awake under there in the undertone on the intro. This song carries off an American sound to it in how it plays. Beats on it are the business. An all-round excellent tune. "Wanna Luv U" carries a somewhat disco signature to proceedings and plays like a SCISSORS SISTERS track in how it plays and sounds.But the comparison is for the right reasons. It is a fresh sound of vocals and synth pop that could be a dance floor classic. A song that has its own merits too as stand-alone floor filler. To sum it up, this is a song that hits you with the rhythm stick. This was then followed up by "21st Century Blues" which is also the eponymous tile of their album, and an album definitely worth its place as a stocking filler this Christmas. This song sounds like something is going down with the intro, and the bass on it is what brings it to the table. And if this song is all about having the blues, then it is also the remedy for them too. This song focuses the sound into a tune that works. This song is alive and grabs you. "Feel Me 1 More Time" comes across as a song in the similar vein to OUTKAST'S "Hey Ya" from the intro but then it moves into a direction that makes it a song with its own signature. Makes you want to feel it all over because it does the same thing to the soul. This is a brilliant piece of music right here. To close off was a song called "What's The Story?" and again it was a case of more of the same. Equal measure of good music meets a good tune and performance from this band.

by Phillip O'Baoigheallain, Dec 2010

wonderlandnet[at]gmail.com