“Music is at a crossroads, and the path you choose to travel comes down to what you believe is true and feels right, bona fide genuine leather, versus what you know deep down is cheap and shallow, plastic not classic, a poor imitation...”
In 2008 Dirty York left a real and lasting impression on Melbourne’s live music scene with their southern rock stylings and repertoire of hard hitting songs. Delivering show after show of hi-octane energy along with a never say die attitude, their unique brand of hook-laden blues rock won over fans both sides of the Yarra. The challenge was always going to be capturing this spirit on record. Now with the release of their much anticipated debut album “Waiting On St. George”, the band are spreading their wings and finding overwhelming support from an insightful league of rock purists and goodtime punters further a field. The word on the street is it’s rare these days to find a band that combines high calibre songcraft with such flair and honest charm like Dirty York. It appears all is not lost in the fickle world of rock ‘n’ roll. The wait is over.
As a vessel for the swaggering, sweaty blues of songwriter and guitarist Luke Teys (ex-Streetkid Vandal), Dirty York serves up a heady remedy of struttin' hard rockin' groove and authentic soul that carries this Melbourne six-piece beyond slavishly mimicing their influences or bowing to superficial trends. They're carving out their own legacy in a musical landscape where the next big thing is a dime a dozen. The combination of Shaun Brown's whiskey-soaked vocals, the Zep-esque six-string squallings of Benny James (ex-72 Blues), Todd Bennett's (ex-Radio Dolls, The Murder Birds) warm bass rumblings, Luka Szpakolski’s "tight but loose" skin-work, and the psych-retro keys of Clare Whitcombe, comes together in a freakish display of sonic abandon. With cool, naturally evolving chemistry apparent to all, Dirty York stands apart with their uncanny knack of making riff-heavy vintage rock so god-damn heartfelt and danceable. They boldly remind us what good rock ‘n’ roll is all about.
