Album Review : Willie and the Bandits – Salt Roots

Review by Ritchie Birnie for MPM

Willie and the Bandits release their most diverse record to date and Salt Roots is 10 tracks long with 10 very different stories and styles. 

The album opens with “Wheal Jane” and this heavy set Blues monster is set in a not very Blues Cornwall tin mine but I am sure working there would definitely have brought out the Blues in anyone.

This is a deep new retrospective for the band and I loved the track from the off. This is how you kick off an album.

“Trouble Round the Bend” is more in the Bandits wheel house and that fantastic funk that drives the band. This is a heavy number with a heavy message as the band have collaborated with the charity Surfers against sewage and if you saw the video for this song you will have seen the boys literally dove into this subject. The song backs up the idea and it is a varied and vivid track.

The funk continues on “King Kong”, a song as big as the title subject matter. It is as fuzzy as Kong’s fur and it has a punch just as powerful. Great melodies, excellent riffs and a whole lot of fun with some outstanding guitar work. 

It is time for some laid back “Shaft” soundtrack music with “Style Thing”. we are talking 1970s funk here. Think mad perms, dodgy moustaches and some very floral shirts. 

“Take my Shoulder” is a stunning song. This is stripped back and beautiful. This is the band at its very best with a vibe that just wants to squeeze your tear ducts.

We head to the Deep South on “Know my Name” but is it me or do we have Willie rapping like a scatting alligator on here? This song should not work but it comes out the other end as one of my favourites on the album. 

I am not sure in hindsight that The Mayflower is actually something to celebrate with what came after but I cannot bring politics in when you have such a stunning song as “Sail Away( The Mayflower)”. With all honesty I can say this is the best I have heard from the band and I have followed them for a long time now. 

The song is faultless from start to finish and Willie sounds incredible as does the simplistic backing to his voice. Add those guitars and you just have to sit back and feel its embrace. 

It is back to the 70s again on “Stand Up”. The message is from the streets and the message is the same now as it was then…take no shit folks. This is the Bandits eclectic melting pot of styles, genres and instruments. When you mix it all together you end up with musical genius.

Latest single “Reina del mar” sounds a bit Latin and that is because Willie wrote it 10 years ago whilst in Cuba and as a Bandit fan you wont have heard anything like it but sit back, sip on some rum and just sink into your deck chair. Totally different and totally exquisite. 

The album finishes on “Homeward Bound” and this is the perfect track to follow the previous song, you have had your holiday now get your ass back home to a dose of reality. One thing that has always played on my mind over the years is how touring bands really feel about touring. The amount of tracks that bands release regarding the subject has you wondering is it a blessing or a chore.

This song may let you make your own mind up on that one but this is a relaxing melody to chill you out and take in the album as a conclusion. 

Salt Roots is Willie and the Bandits at their best. This is 10 tracks of musical wizardry that is outside any given time, era or genre. It was not meant to be tied down or labelled, it is just meant to be enjoyed.

Physical: https://shorturl.at/8NrzC

Stream: https://hypeddit.com/cjrzbd

Salt Roots UK Tour
March 2026

5^th The Brook | Southampton
  6^th John Peel Centre | Stowmarket
  7^th The Star | Guildford
  11^th Night and Day | Manchester
  12^th Voodoo Rooms | Edinburgh 
  13^th Rum Shack | Glasgow
  14^th Cluny | Newcastle
  18^th Acapela | Cardiff
  19^th Albert’s Shed | Shrewsbury
  20^th Adelphi | Liverpool
  21^st Amped | Huddersfield
  22^nd Bodega | Nottingham 
  27^th Greystones | Sheffield
  28^th Carnglaze Caverns | Liskeard * with Martin Harley, True Strays, Echo Town and James Dixon
  Apr 29^th Half Moon Putney | London 
  
 Tour Tickets on website  www.willeandthebandits.com