Promised Land

Following last year’s hugely acclaimed Bored Animal album, Psychonaut Sounds release His Lordship’s tribute to Rock ’n’ Roll pioneer Chuck Berry, to celebrate what would’ve been his 100th birthday. 

Ever since The Beatles paid homage to Berry with their covers of ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ and ‘Rock and Roll Music’, and the Rolling Stones released Berry’s ‘Come On’ as their debut single, British boys with guitars have had a deep love affair with the extraordinary songs and sounds of Black American rock ‘n’ roll and, in their own inimitable way, paid tribute to the truly timeless genre, whilst acknowledging their love for its inventors.

A lifelong fan of Chuck Berry - at just six years of age His Lordship’s frontman and guitarist James Walbourne saw Berry perform at Hammersmith Odeon - last year James was asked to play at the annual celebration of Berry’s music in his hometown of St. Louis. Thereafter, rock ‘n’ roll pilgrims His Lordship hit upon the idea of attempting to record a varied selection of Berry’s songs, to see if, whilst paying tribute to these monuments of American music, they could put their own personal stamp on the material, injecting it with 21st century urgency and fiery passion. 

Recorded in early 2026 at London’s Karma Studios, Promised Land features mostly adrenalised reworkings of 13 extraordinary songs, with many of the tracks recorded without rehearsal. With imaginative vocal phrasing from Walbourne, and intuitive playing between him and His Lordship’s drummer Kris Sonne - joined by bassist Dave Page - Promised Land avoids parody and captures the essence and spontaneity of pure rock ‘n’ roll, all in the band’s visceral style, whilst incorporating elements of proto-punk, garage rock, doo wop, the harmonies of New York girl groups, and, along the way, an old guitar of Ry Cooder’s. 

First single Nadine is deconstructed with a circular riff and ploughed through at breakneck speed, whilst Come On, featuring Lisa Kelaula of the Californian Rock and soul band The Bellrays, comes on like the MC5 with The Ronettes on backing vocals.  

Knowing it was important to include several of Berry’s most influential songs, the album also features dizzying takes on Maybelline, a funkier version of Roll Over Beethoven, a fuzzy groove on Memphis, Tennessee, an all-but reinvented Brown Eyed Handsome Man with a new infectious riff, and an indifferent, throwaway treatment of Too Much Monkey Business to reflect the protagonist of the song’s story.

Whilst tackling the obvious end of Berry’s extraordinary catalogue, the band also recorded versions of some of his lesser-known tracks. Right Off Rampart Street is turned from a simple, stripped 12-bar blues, into something gritty and sinister, featuring a coruscating guitar solo. I Want Be You Driver is a heavy and ferocious garage number, and Jaguar and Thunderbird’s narrator ends up sounding like a frantic racecourse announcer. 

Elsewhere, tender ballad Litte Star is reworked as an old-style doo wop number, referencing two of the band’s favourite songs - Maybe by The Chantels and Don French's Lonely Saturday Night; the title track is completely rearranged with stacked guitars, and album closer Let It Rock receives an intense treatment conjuring up the chaos of Jim Dickinson producing Alex Chilton, taking inspiration from Memphis rock’n’roll records like Sun Records’ Cadillac Man by the Jesters. 

Fired up by the early spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, Promised Land is an irreverent and raucous – and, above all else, fun - tribute to one of the greatest of all time. 

The album cover features a photo by Cory Weaver of faded Americana, taken near St. Louis’ historic African-American neighbourhood The Ville, the very one where Chuck Berry lived and wrote many of his most famous songs.