The Redneck Manifesto Player

Album review

• The Redneck Manifesto
• Friendship
• Richter Collective

Time was, The Redneck Manifesto were the best instrumental band in Ireland. In the four years since their last release, however, the landscape has changed; young bucks such as And So I Watch You from Afar now dominate the scene, while contemporaries The Jimmy Cake continue to refine their craft admirably. So it's just as well that the quintet's fourth album is a well-formed gem. Friendship may not have the intermittent incendiary riffs of predecessor I Am Brazil , but it's the most evenly paced Redneck album to date. They've also discovered their inner groove - funky basslines abound on the irresistible Black Apple and Smile More , while Rubber Up changes pace several times to exhilarating effect. There are even flashes of gentle Afrobeat, electronica and Fujiya & Miyagi-style krautrock. With friends like these, there's no such thing as enemies.