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The William Loveday Intention — Cowboys Are SQ
(Liberation Hall 5056, 2022, CD / LP)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2022-05-20

Cowboys Are SQ Cover art

Steven John Hamper (AKA Billy Childish) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, filmmaker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 70s Childish has been a prolific artist, leading and playing in bands including the Pop Rivets, Thee Milkshakes, Thee Headcoats, and the Musicians of the British Empire, primarily working in the genres of garage rock, punk and surf and releasing more than 100 albums. Childish goes by many different monikers, the latest being William Loveday with his band The William Loveday Intention, releasing a whopping seven full-length albums in under two years, the latest being Cowboys Are SQ.  With SQ meaning square or “non-hepcats.” The album features a raw and rugged mix of Americana, blues, garage, and pop songs. It is an entire package with the cover art credited to Old 4 Legs, another Childish pseudonym, and an homage to Bo Diddley’s 1960 release Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger. Joining Childish on the album are Adophus Havard (drums), David  Tattersall (guitar), Jim Riley (harmonica), Jon Barker (Hammond organ), Richard Moore (violin), and J. W. Loveday (AKA Julie Hamper, bass and vocals). The title track and its reprise are excellent gothic western songs with a bit of western swing featuring devilish fiddle. Another excellent song is “Pocahontas Was Her Name,” which is firmly in the Spaghetti Western genre. “The 7 Stages of Grief” is reminiscent of Bob Dylan, that precedes Billy revisiting Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” that he previously covered in 2020 on his The New and Improved Bob Dylan. This version is an excellent and faithful rendition of this Dylan classic with Jon Barker channeling Al Kooper’s inspired riffs on the Hammond organ. All in all, quite a surprising and great album.

Filed under: New releases, 2022 releases

Related artist(s): Billy Childish

 

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