Led by Dom Turner, the Backsliders are the real deal in the blues, with chunky opener Dark Side of Newtown a testament to that. A festering blues gumbo, lyrics just sliding through the hot air like water down a slab of ice, I loved being transported to an era when Newtown wasn't full of cafes, niche market shops and the bustling throng. On pressing play you enter Backsliders' territory, are asked to give up on your pretensions and expectations - and take a ticket. Blues riffs, harp, Rob Hirst's drums (former Midnight Oil) pounding away steadily, almost hauntingly at times. There is delicacy on here too, as well as history, and above all - music that is what it is. Uncompromisingly.