So the new album has dropped and the reception has been really positive so far. We'll add the reviews as they hit so keep checking back to see how the guys are doing:

THE HITCHERS
'Tees Valley Deadbeats'
(Crazy Love Records)

[5/5] Help me, I can't stop playing it.

The Hitchers have a rare talent, they can make songs of misery and being dumped or being at rock bottom sound like a summer drive along a Californian coast road. They have incorporated a double bass into their line-up since their Toddler Records debut which confirms the rockabilly influences that lurked in that cracker. When I first had the pleasure of listening to this it was driving along on a miserable February morning without the benefit of the lyrics. Before I knew it I was singing along without knowing the words but that was easy with the vocal harmonies that litter the tracks. Many of them have a West Coast feel while the double bass and rockabilly guitar bounce things along in a joyous manner bringing long forgotten summers into the car. Add a bit of ludicrous doo wop and some punk sneer you've got an album to brighten up your life. Then the shock, many of these songs, often the most happy sounding, are tales of woe, even better, if you can relate to them you'll be cured by the end and you'll be singing along too. The best album I've had the pleasure of reviewing all year so far.

Simon Nott
(C) Big Cheese Magazine (Issue 86, April 2007)