US rockers mix punk, funk and soul

The Bellrays, Le Public Space, Newport

CALIFORNIA hasn’t been shy over the years in throwing up some great punk bands – just look at The Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion and Black Flag, to name but a few.

But The Bellrays are a cut above that rest of those bands who’ve made their names – and a righteous noise into the bargain – on that sunkissed, yet socially deprived scene.

Melding three-chord fury with funk, rock and soul – and with singer Lisa Kekaula’s soaring vocals added to the mix - they sound like Tina Turner fronting the MC5, or Aretha Franklin and Jimi Hendrix having a bevvy at a jam session by The Stooges.

And the American four-piece are to bring that potent witches’ brew to Newport, just in time to showcase tracks from their latest album, Punk Funk Rock Soul Volume 2.

Following on the release of Volume One, a four-track taster EP released last year – and their first full LP since Black Lightning in 2010, it goes a long way to capturing the raw, in-yourface style of the group’s live performances.

“We want to make all who hear our songs feel good,” explains Kekaula.

“We are proud of this album’s simplicity and love how the new songs sound like old friends.

“This new release is a collection of songs that illustrates why we do what we do. We are not 20-year-olds and that’s okay – we are proud of our mileage and our journey. We like to rock.”

And does.

Indeed, anyone who only knows Kekaula from her guest vocal spot on dance band Basement Jaxx’s 2003 hit Good Luck will be in for a shock.

A wailing banshee and incandescent energy on stage, the 50-year-old Los Angelian is a fearsome force to be reckoned with. As are the rest of her band. The Bellrays play Le Public Space in Newport on Saturday March 10. Go to www.lepublicspace.co.uk for more information. rock she most certainly