Provogue Records, a division of Mascot Label Group, is pleased to announce the release of the debut mini album from No Sinner – an exciting, powerhouse blues rock band from Vancouver, Canada, fronted by vocalist Colleen Rennison. The debut mini album "Boo Hoo Hoo" features nine tracks - released in the UK on Monday 20th January 2014.
25-year-old Colleen Rennison is a post modern blues belter and queen of soul. She’s a hard-singing, hard-loving, hard-drinking, hard-working throwback to those she grew up listening to - Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Big Mama Thornton, and Bessie Smith.
"People have told me I sound like Janis Joplin since I was five years old", says the Canadian blues rock vixen. "My mom was a little wary of introducing me to her at an early age. Maybe she wanted to keep me away from sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll as long as possible".
If that was the case, her mom failed miserably, because Rennison, who learned from a cousin that her name was "No Sinner" spelled backwards, is now the singer of a raucous rock band with guitarist Eric Campbell, drummer Ian Browne and bassist Bradley Ferguson. In Canada, the band released their debut album, "Boo Hoo Hoo", which included six tracks from their 2012 EP released on Vancouver indie label First Love Records.
"Boo Hoo Hoo" travels from the juke-joint jump blues rockabilly of its title track and the Delta swamp of "Running", with a chugging Creedence beat, to "Love Is Madness" with a Motown bass line and a Dusty Springfield "Spooky" vibe.
"Boo Hoo Hoo" includes a cover of Nina Simone’s version of Nat Adderley/Oscar Brown Jr.'s "Work Song", the soaring, affirmative gospel revival of "Rise Up", the sensuous plaint of "If Anything" and the feedback-charged "Devil on My Back", an original track that features Black Mountain's Matt Camirand.
No Sinner’s music is about the clash between the sacred and the profane, the preacher and the devil, the sins of Saturday night at the local watering hole being washed away in the redemption of Sunday morning in church. It’s the contradiction at the heart of rock ’n’ roll.
"It’s a consistent theme in my life to negotiate between being animals and being righteous", explains Colleen. "We need a healthy dose of good and evil in our lives. Music is a medium between us and the spiritual world. Our songs express the gamut from sinful to celestial".
In her hometown of Vancouver, Colleen started writing songs with Parker Bossley (formerly of Hot Hot Heat) and joined up with future band members Campbell and Browne, for a weekly Thursday night residency at Guilt and Company, a new club in Vancouver's Gastown district. "I honed my chops, my stage confidence, my style and versatility", explains Colleen. "I learned to play with other musicians".
Known for performing in a T-shirt and cut-off jean shorts, Rennison’s larger-than-life, whiskey-swigging, last of the red-hot blues mamas is no act.
"So much of the music I started listening to as a girl came from churches and gatherings where people congregated and sang their blues away", she says.
Tracklist:
01.Boo Hoo Hoo
02. Love is Madness
03. Runnin’
04. If Anything
05. Work Song
06. That’d Be the Day
07. Rise Up
08. Devil on My Back
09. September Moon
"It’s a dirty business loving me / It’s going to be hard sometimes", she warns on the sultry "If Anything". "That’s a disclaimer for anyone who wants to get involved with me", laughs Colleen. "I’m warning you now".
With her in-your-face stage presence and t-shirt and blue jean shorts, Rennison is an old soul, wiser than her years might suggest. "I want to bridge the gap between class and trash", she says. "I love the idea of these women who very much lived in a man’s world, touring on the road".
We write whatever comes to us", insists Colleen. "We’re fans of a variety of different sounds and all kinds of music. We're inspired that groups like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, early Kings of Leon and the White Stripes brought the blues and rock back to basics. We’re into so many different styles of music that we have the liberty to do what we please. We really don’t have a formula. We’ve here to make our own mark".
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