The Deep Six – ‘Looking For Tuesday Jones’ (Heavy Soul). Reviewed by Paul Hooper-Keeley

 

With fantastic artwork from Paul Bevoir, The Deep Six present their third album as a pastiche of a movie soundtrack in a very stylish manner. 

It’s a little odd reviewing this release as I was rehearsing several of these songs whilst I was still in the band myself just after the pandemic (and before I had to stand back to the heavy touring schedule), so it adds a level of weirdness for me. 

The album kicks off with ‘All To Give Me Love’, a full-on Syd song that is crying out to be released as a single. Catchy from the very beginning and building up to a great hook this would surely get a lot of radio airplay. 

‘Just Another Day’ starts with a nice descending 12-string run that immediately takes you to the vicinity of Merseyside. More measured and mid-paced, this is lovely and melodic. 

Next up is ‘Come The Day’ which feels like a big song from the way that it launches in. Great backing vocals, this feels like it could have been the title track to an old movie from the 60s. A super lead guitar break too. 

‘Look What You’ve Been And Gone And Done’ is the first recorded contribution from Niall Keohane aka Pete Flatwound. And what a start this is to his songwriting career. Catchy, goofy, cheesy, groovy but so much all-round fun you are not going to get this out of your head and will find yourself playing (and singing) this over and over again. Lovely keyboard hook, and Niall’s vocal style works perfectly. Another contender to be an A-side. 

Back to Syd’s songs and ‘Sleeping On Your Own’ is next. Starting acoustically, this is mellow and builds up to a beautiful hook with some nice guitar phrasing throughout. Then it changes up a gear in the middle eight with another very nice guitar run. This is quality songwriting and performing. 

‘Tell Your Story’ builds from limited instrumentation but with a great melody from the start. Another catchy number from the pen of Mark McGounden and a nice key change too. I also love The Who sequences at the end – “There once was note….” / “Song Is Over…” which blend in perfectly. 

For some reason, ‘How I Won The War’ gives an early Weller solo vibe, which is no bad thing. The song drives on nicely once again and demonstrates the great versatility of the band. 

There’s a nice harpsichord sound and nursery rhyme feel to the start of ‘Lemons & Oranges’, which has a much more stripped back instrumentation but without feeling like it is lacking anything. Dreamlike and enjoyable in a Jetset/Times/Dance Network kind of way. 

‘Holding On’ is mid-paced and mature and has my mind wandering to late Beatles George Harrison territory. A great lead guitar break too. This is another very good song and, as with all of The Deep Six’s recordings, exudes quality and production values. 

Song 10 on the album is ‘Open The Door’, another Syd original. A percussive start as Syd sings over an acoustic guitar until the drums kick in and you can feel the song building until it resolves into another great chorus with some delightful piano fills and backing vocals. 

The title track, ‘Tuesday Jones’, is written by new recruit Ade Martin and starts with a nice acoustic guitar sound (lovely tone) in 3 / 4 time supported by some strings and a wonderful sounding bass guitar before the drums interact. With a heartful lead vocal and some wonderful backing vocals, this fits in with the album really well and was an excellent choice to be the title track. 

Finishing the album with another Syd composition, ‘The Day You Decide To Leave’, crashes in with a chord and launches into a modern take on a Beatles style number from circa 1964/65. Great 12-string guitar runs and another earworm of a song that is yet another contender to be an A-side. 

What can I say? This is a great album of well-crafted songs, wonderful melodies and superb performances. A record to be proud of. It’s available on both vinyl and CD formats – every collection deserves to have this in both formats.