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Song

Don’t Say A Word

Artist

Mike Ross

Mike Ross backstory

The redoubtable Mike Ross shot to fame as one third of the singer-songwriter collab RHR.

Troy Redfern, Jack J Hutchinson and Ross fused the best of Southern rock, Americana and blues on dazzling debut Mahogany Drift in 2018.

And the threesome gained a reputation for red hot jamming during a series of critically acclaimed live shows.

Away from RHR and Ross also boasts a back catalogue of stunning solo material.

Spindrift (2014), Jenny’s Place (2018) and last year’s The Clovis Limit Pt.1 underlined a penchant for deep rooted blues rock and soul.

The follow-up to Ross’s third long player revisits that record’s raw appeal and refines a winning formula in some style.

Third single Don’t Say A Word follows The Loser and None Of Your Business — offering further evidence of a singer songwriter in the form of his life.

In Mike Ross’s own words:

“Picture, if you will, a conspiracy theorist: a stuck-in-the mud, head-in-the-sand individual whose dissonance and denial are so strong that they distort the person’s whole reality, rendering them incapable of recognising their own part and role in a situation. 

“Someone who’s so blind to their own hypocrisy that even when they’re exposed as a liar and fraud, the message just doesn’t get through.

“So, what’s the message for that person? Just keep your mouth shut and DON’T SAY A WORD!”

The verdict on Don’t Say A Word

The down and dirty, sleazy blues intro. ushering in Don’t Say A Word is rich in authenticity and dripping Black Crowes-esque cool.

Layers of fuzzed-up riffage, broad brushstrokes of Hammond and Ross’s heartfelt vocals paint a picture of modern blues at its emotive best.

In fact Don’t Say A Word speaks for a rock and roll community drained of its lifeblood.

At a time when the socially inclusive live music scene is a distant memory this soul-searching single is the voice of hope.

Ross boasts a remarkable range of talents and remains a key figure in the NWOCR revival.

And Don’t Say A Word says it all where this rising star is concerned.

What’s next for Mike Ross

New album The Clovis Limit Pt.2 is released on Friday via Taller Records.

Ross plans an album release show in Brighton this Thursday and hopes to hit Europe — coronavirus permitting — before Christmas.

Watch this space!

Main image by Al Stuart