Hector Gannet - The Great Shakedown (GUGA
Records)
Release Date: 23rd October 2026
More information: https://www.instagram.com/hectorgannet/
Sometimes, just sometimes, a guitar cries out into the night and something in me flicks on. The opening chords of 'the Great Shakedown' is one such time and as is it the introduction to the new Hector Gannet album of the same name it makes for quite the welcome. The song itself swells with keys, horns and driving energy redolent of Springsteen in his pomp but you get the feeling this is just the beginning. 'Let It Pour' takes the foot of the gas slightly but keeps the power and energy going on song dripping in North Eastern grit and charm. The opening trio is completed by 'Seven Signs' and those horns are front and centre on a song that sounds Hozier, Elbow and Lewis Capaldi jamming in the ruins of a castle as close to the border with Scotland as you can get.
This is a lush and ambitious album, you can hear that from the start, but 'Boat In The Bottle' is a more stripped back ballad with main man Aaron James Duff in brilliantly heartbroken vocal form. The piano and harmonica combination at the start of 'Full Circle' is a classic piece of songwriting that draws you in before putting an arm around you while 'Big White Telephone' opens with an almost jazz infused sound and a trumpet that wants to stretch its legs on the banks of the Tyne with that lazy piano melody. That raw rock'n'roll sound is back on 'The Mother Tongue' which has a drawl to it that makes it feel live before 'The Jetty's End' takes a moment to incorporate church bells into a song that revels in that feeling when you grit your teeth in a vain attempt to make the tears stop rolling.
Penultimate song 'A Stitch In The Fold' is a stunningly sad piano ballad that rings out into the cold air that creeps up on a day when the sun dips down and Duff's voice calls out from behind eyes closed tight with emotion. We close out on 'No Money, No Time (the Great Reprise)' and we get one last Commitments-esque blast from the band before everyone grabs their coats and heads out into the night feeling restored and revived for the experience. This is the kind of album that catches you unaware because whatever your expectations might be, this will outstrip them. The real deal, a real treat and a very real contender for album of the year.
More information: https://www.instagram.com/hectorgannet/
Live Dates:
Oct 28th - Musicport Festival – Whitby
Nov 27th - Sage Hall Two - Glasshouse Gateshead (album launch)
Nov 27th - Sage Hall Two - Glasshouse Gateshead (album launch)