Fish Out Of Water - Ash Grunwald

I'VE never been an Australian roots fan, especially the long-haired, laid-back surf variety.Sure, Ash Grunwald stands apart from the beach bonfire crowd with his booming voice and staunch love of the foot-stomping Delta blues tradition.For me, he too has been let down by what is not to like about the scene - too middling, derivative and serious.He was entirely listenable, but rarely transcended being more than homage to his blues forebearers.Therefore, Fish Out Of Water, his fifth album, is to be commended for taking his music forward into welcome territory.Helping move the ARIA award-winning solo artist out of his comfort zone was an unlikely pairing at a label-initiated songwriters day.Teamed with hip-hop beatsman Pip Norman - aka Countbounce from TZU - the duo wrote the album's title track, an uplifting blues gospel tune, in a day.So inspiring for Grunwald, he asked Norman to write more with him, with the pair sharing credits on five tracks and Norman twiddling the production knobs.Like a merging of the old and the new, the result is a melding of blues bass-lines, ripping riffs and hip-hop influenced backbeats.Norman might also have loosened up his protege in other areas, with Grunwald pulling out more solos and bringing a looser and more fiery feel to his writing.There are grunge elements on opener Can U Find A Way, smooth funk on Get What You Want and some soulful, acoustic numbers that temper the digital assault.Grunwald loses the annoying air of earnestness to show that modern-day blues can do more than tip the hat to the old masters.