Every now and then you come across something musical, weather it be an EP or and LP, that really stands out, something a little different and unique, a real gem, and that is exactly how I would describe the four track EP ‘Well Hanged’ by a band called The Damn Jammage. Now admittedly I had not heard of these guys before, and really was not sure what to expect, but I knew after just one track that this was one of those oh so rare gems.
The Damn Jamage are an explosive six piece collective who generate a truly unique dark and sinister surreal style mixture of blues, folk and rock, created by the bitter sweet heart melting, bone shattering vocals of baritone Danny Rapscallion and pianist jasmine cave, teamed with the sonic guitar styling’s of Paul White, the dynamic pounding of drummer Lewis Jones-richly coloured with the bass lines of Paulo-Paulo. All this whisked together with Lottie Bowater’s creeping accordion and doo-wop backing vocals.
‘Well Hanged’ leaves you felling as if you had taken a journey down the fantasy filled dark and dingy corridors of Rock, only to discover something of un-paralleled beauty. ‘Well Hanged’ begins with a real be belter, ‘No Rest For The Crooked’, a track so surreal and unexpected, it kind of left me speechless. The dark, growling vocals, yet bright and up-beat rockabilly sounding rhythm section give the track a surreal  gypsy blues  almost ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ feel, now that’s something I never thought I’d write. Rapscallion’s rasping vocals grow darker and darker adding the fuel to a blazing chorus as it reaches a crescendo. What a track, If Tim Burton wrote Rock songs this is what they’d sound like.
‘Black and Blue’ on the other hand is completely different. A sombre almost 8 minute marathon of creepy folk, even with its heavy tone, the gentle harmonies and flirty violins give this track a real captivating feel.
The third track: ‘Stockpiling Poison’ starts nice and slow, like an autumn stroll, before heading into an up-beat sprint of foot stomping beats. Muck like the previous track this has a real bluesy-folk style, almost shanty like at times, with the howling harmonicas and steady violins.
Final track ‘(Show Me) Lonely Love Lost’ begins with a calm and gentle flow, with beautiful harmonies, but soon descends into a boozy trumpet tinged rabble.
Once I collected the fragments of my mind and glued them back together, I realised just how much I had fallen in love with this EP. The Damn Jammage are an unpredictable bunch of genre-cross-breeding carefree maniacs who present themselves to unsuspecting listeners with little foresight of how the music will collide them through to the end of their musical madness. Just brilliant, I truly could not recommend Well Hanged by The Damn Jammage enough, Prepare to have you dreams and nightmares sound-tracked.