Scott Hepple And The Sun Band - English Mustard - CD

A lot’s happened since 2021. Back then Newcastle native Scott Hepple recorded a pile of his songs solo with musical assistance from friends. The lo-fi self-released LP, ‘Ashes To Wildflowers’, was released in 2023. It was followed 2024’s eight-track mini-album ‘Lama’, both of which were well-received, even if only a few in the know were aware of this exciting new band. As a result, the Sun Band played various shows across Europe and the UK, including a support for the legendary Johnny Echols & Love, as headliners at Third Man Records in London and Shindig! Magazine’s ‘Happening!’ night, where the band impressed Rise Above’s Lee Dorrian enough for him to sign them on the spot. The ‘Smoke And Frown’ single debuted on the label last August.

The Sun Band swerve from early ’70s heaviness into ’60s psych, mellow folk to coruscating guitar noise, and whilst influences can be heard, these all get mangled and pulped through a liquidiser, sounding unlike anyone else past or present. This is the Scott Hepple sound.

Laid down over a period of six days at Mike Oldfield’s Tilehouse Studios, on the outer edges of West London, the all-analogue affair expands the Sun Band’s mix of loud and quiet, ferocious and thoughtful music. The dynamics and light and shade that define Scott Hepple & The Sun Band are clearly on display.