Gabriel, Forgive My 22 Sins Stove Pony * * *

The fine art of fisticuffs is grist to the songwriting mill: redemption, resilience, rising from adversity, the joy of winning and the despair of being in the blue (and bruised) corner. This Southend-on-Sea band’s third album focuses on one-time boxing champion Frankie Valentinez, who, after taking a bribe to throw a fight, descended into physical ill health and mental breakdown. It’s a good story told well through a sequence of songs that reference boho types (Tom Waits), muscular Americana (The Band), firebrand rock’n’ roll (Crazy Horse), garage/ Nuggets-era punk (Jim Jones Revue) and rustic if somewhat wired folk (The Pogues). The songs move the story along at a brisk pace, while some of the lyrics are casually brilliant (“I left him lying there with lines I tore from Romans 8 on his chest”). Search out and enjoy. See theluckystrikes.com

TONY CLAYTON-LEA

Download tracks: Slowly the Night Fades, The Fight