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The Self-Righteous Brothers: Rusty Swing Feel

In the guise of their Self-Righteous alter egos Derek Jacombs and Nigel Masters step down from band duty with Kokomo to take an acoustic musical journey from the back porch to the local garden bar. And what a laid-back trip it is, with cruisey vocals from both, supported only by Jacombs’ nicely picked acoustic guitar and Masters’ sturdy acoustic bass. In a perfect example of this-is-what-we-like-to-play-in-downtime-when-we’re-not-working-our-butts-off-in-the-band, they swing through their favourite Guy Clark, Bob Dylan and Townes van Zandt songs, a couple of older standards and a few of their own. Along the way Jacombs comes up with a superb reading of his own best song Strange Angels (so vastly different from the current ebullient Kokomo version I’d suggest it’s time we had a definitive acoustic reading of more of his underrated compositions). Masters contributes two nostalgia-inflected ballads, including the jaunty waltz The Ballad of Kowhiterangi, where his name-checking of the Kokatahi Band (Masters being a sometime West Coaster), should bring joy to them folk down there. Excellent, enjoyable, quiet party album. Distributed by Jayrem Records.

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