Red Ray and the Reprobates The South Bristol Voice once described Red Ray and the Reprobates as being “shambolic,” and on your first encounter with this rough-around-the-edges Country-Soul Rock group, you’d be forgiven for perhaps imagining them as a leaderless band of wandering outlaws, out to shake-down some far-flung Old West town. The Reprobates have crept into Bristol’s counterculture music scene under the cover of night, before seizing it by the lapels, and shaking it to the core. ‘Red’ Ray Lannon, himself, is a bright, cheerful Geordie whose penchant for cider, and distinct dislike for big corporations (a fact which receives a subtle nod in the band’s song Scottish Power, We Hate You) has seen him settle nicely into the bohemian arms of the city of Bristol. Filling the ranks of the Reprobates, Bassist (and Lead Ladies’-Man) Stew’s origins in the Grunge scene are plain, through his brooding, funky melodies, and he adds a postmodern twist to the tried-and-true formula of the genre. Meanwhile, Lead Guitarist ‘Coyote’ Cam carries Ray’s spitfire lyrics home with perfect harmonies, and magnificent guitar-work, and serves as a wry foil for the bouncy enthusiasm of the rest of the group. Self-described “dirty, working-class motherfuckers,” the Reprobates are a microcosm of the times – angry young men whose new album – Red Ray and the Reprobates – perfectly encapsulates a state-of-being felt by anyone struggling to get-by in uncertain times. From Quicksand, and Hard Luck Barnaby, to Giant Song; The Reprobates’ songs are harsh, hilarious, and righteously furious litanies against the Sisyphean toil of life in an uncaring, neon world. The retro, Cash-esque stage presence, interwoven with traces of Punk, Grunge, and Brit-Pop, gives a delightfully raucous voice to a generation left-behind. Whether you’d describe them as Western, Blues, or Post-Punk rebels, one thing is absolutely etched into the scorched Earth, left in the wake of Red Ray and the Reprobates: This ain’t your dad’s country music!