This sound is given it's own classy character thanks to the songwriting talents of Drew Perkins, guitarist and lead singer with the band and it was from him, in his great Kentucky drawl, that I go the low-down (or is that hoedown?) on who they are. "As a kid I played trumpet and piano but it wasn't until I was 21 in 1990, just after Stevie Ray Vaughan passed, that I got into the guitar. Stevie Ray was phenomenal. And from then on I've never looked back. I played in a band called 40 Watt Station in the 90's but things changed when I came back here after being in California. I'd do open mic nights here and Hurricane (Edgehill Avenue's lead guitarist) who lives locally would get up and we'd play together and we learned each other, so to speak. It kind of grew from there." From this pairing, the band grew in number bringing in a myriad of influences. "Our drummer Lamont was strictly blues and has played the Monterey Blues Festival and he has done a lot of touring. Our bass player John played in the early Ben Folds Five line-up. We made an acoustic demo, a real quick hitter, and people liked it. We wanted to add a keyboard player so we found Paul who comes from a progressive rock background."

With five players from such different genres, it's no surprise the album crosses genre lines with as much regularity as moon shiners cross federal lines. With the quality of the songs and the polished production, recording the album was obviously a lengthy process. "It took about six months to get them (the tracks) down and a year with all the overdubs we did. We'd do each part and then go back and do another part. We were going for that old vinyl feel."

They've certainly achieved that. It's unmistakably the sound of a band that can nail up-tempo country rockers and ballads with equal aplomb. "I write a lot. It's a good thing. I think you have to 'cause you try things out with the band and sometimes it doesn't work. It's liberating writing with the band in mind. The new stuff is changing; it's swampy, poppy and pretty. A song like "Rambler" started as a riff, a real quiet song and the band took it to a whole other place. I think it's cool what they did with it."

It's one of the highlights of the CD and the songs is lyrically unusual as it deals with Frederick Douglass, the former slave who learned to read and write at twelve, which at that time was illegal for slaves to do. Through his life he championed equality not just for slaves but women. "I had the idea of the rambler and I was looking for a figure to write about. He seemed to fit. "Justified" is about genocide, which I got the idea for after watching a BBC programme about the United Nations and how ineffective they were dealing with such a crisis, paying lip service while people were slaughtered. I don't usually write such specific songs, as I don't think politics is what we do as a band. Normally I write more ambiguous songs as I think people relate more easily to those kinds of things."

Drew's not resting on his laurels after the release of this record as he's already been back in the studio working on a follow up. "Today we recorded four songs and we've already got another six tracks done. The producer and I have been trying to work out how to make the process quicker in the studio - faster than the first record. Like today, it was just me playing my acoustic messing around with a few covers like Ryan Adams - I'm a big fan, Oasis' "Wonderwall" and Springsteen's "I'm on Fire". Seeing what happens, what comes out. I try not to force it. Neil Young onces said something about leaving the window open. Get in, get it down quickly, or get out. You can tell when it's forced. "With These Hands" (a track on the debut) is such an example. I wrote that in a matter of minutes. It's a great feeling when it comes from nowhere."

The enthusiasm the band has generated hasn't just been for their work in the recording studio. Live they've been greeted very positively. "We love playing live and we'd certainly love to come over to Europe. Nicky at TSM is getting the promotion started over there. I've been to Europe and Australia. I know others in the band haven't been but would love to. Often bands get press and do well in Europe before it takes off for them in the States. Kings of Leon are a prime example of that and My Morning Jacket, who play pretty darn good rock and are from our neck of the woods. Some Americans can be ethnocentric, or whatever the word is, but I know it's a big world worth seeing.".

Hopefully we'll get that chance to see them soon. If you need a respite from rocking out and want to mellow out with some stylish roots rock, Edgehill Avenue have ideal porch songs from those hot summer evenings.