Wildcat O'Halloran Band Album "Welcome To Sunderland" Review

Artist: Wildcat O'Halloran Band

Album: Welcome To Sunderland

Released: 2026

Artist Website: https://wildcatohalloran.com/

The Wildcat O'Halloran Band returns with a new record Welcome To Sunderland, their first release on the Guitar One imprint. This 13 song set is everything we have come to know about this slippery little band out of New England. Exceptionally clever lyrics, tasteful playing and vintage sounding recordings. This band always has 70's lo-fi sounding production, which is refreshing to hear in a time of pristine digital recordings. A little dirt goes a long way! 

The album opens with a cut called Welcome Wagon. A story about the police pulling over the late night drunk drivers coming out of the college bars in town. This song has a bit more of a rock and roll approach that would be at home on a Warren Zevon album versus a straight 12 bar blues. However, it would be impossible to extract the blues instincts from this outfit. You simply can't take the salt back out of the soup, and this is some pretty salty gumbo. 

A cool rumba Check Her Mama is the classic story of taking a good look at the mother of your love interest for a glimpse into the future. The band lays down a solid pocket on the classic blues groove with sweet guitar and harp solos peppered throughout, providing lots of heat to the already spicy rumba beat that has become a standard on most blues records. 

Too Big to Cry is a fun track that embodies everything that this band brings to the blues table. Always a cool lyric that is much more thoughtful than a typical blues song. Wildcat is a storyteller at the core that clearly has a love for the blues, but a sense of humor and a contemporary spin on his words. A modern wordsmith with an old school approach to the music and production makes for an interesting listen for sure.

A less typical funky approach to the Albert King classic Born Under A Bad Sign is an unexpected surprise. Cat's guitar playing seems to have the influence of the British Blues Invasion more so than any other influence. His playing on this cut is less Albert King sting and more of a Peter Green or early Clapton approach. His playing always sounds unforced and comfortable. He seems less concerned about total precision and more interested in the overall vibe. 

Wildcat and company never disappoint with their dirty delivery. If you are a fan of a grittier approach to the blues there is a lot here to like. It's not overly aggressive at any point, but never dull either. The production is charmingly real as is the performance. It has the feel of the band live in the room and whatever happens is what is printed to tape. It's an approach that isn't for everyone, but has a very human quality to it that is missing in most records these days. Cat's ability to tell a story is on par with the likes of Billy Joel and Tom Waits, wrapped into the blues. Pretty solid lyrical company to say the least. If you are looking for a more light hearted approach to blues music with a contemporary approach to the lyrics this is a slam dunk. 

Check out the interview with Wildcat Below....

Tell us the brief history of your band or musical career.

Like a lot of folks, I grew up through the British Invasion bands, and started tracking their sources back to the Blues originators. While putting together my early bands, I realized that many of those originators were touring through my area–usually with rock bands as support. Soon, I was sharing stages with John Lee Hooker and James Cotton ( and learning how it REALLY was done!) We did a little touring before COVID, but have mostly stayed in New England….close to that “ little drinking town with a farming problem”, and its nearby giant University!

Tell me about your favorite performance in your career. And worst.

People here still ask me about a couple of performances with Blues Legends. MY show in Northampton with Greg Allman was a night where everything clicked….while my stint as Bo Diddley’s backing band (at the same venue, 6 months earlier), though well-received by an excited audience, was one where very little clicked. Bo spent the first half of the show extremely dissatisfied– yelling at the drummer. Finally, the keyboard player started yelling to the drummer: “Play a Polka!-play a polka!” Apparently, a polka beat was just what the legend wanted, because Bo got a big smile and we “Bo Diddley beat “ our way to a couple of encores. Drummer quit the following week, though.

Describe your creative process when you write new music.

I’m pretty sure that the process of writing songs is wildly different for people, and I’m EXTREMELY doubtful that suggesting my way would help anybody else. But for me, it almost always starts with a phrase that gets stuck in my head. Which suggests a title . Which suggests a story. Like a jingle that keeps going around and around in your mind, this title won’t go away. It keeps suggesting things that would be logical progressions….and, next thing you know…..there’s a song! (Usually I have to return to sharpen the flow/rhymes etc….usually by taking out extra words!) But basically, the story writes itself! Then, I make a truly horrible, primitive demo ( My band thankfully makes the HUGE leap of faith of considering this trash—” He must know what he’s doing”) ….and then, it’s mostly arranging. We record rhythm tracks, and then layer stuff on top. By then, I’ve hopefully learned how to sing it!

What is your favorite piece of gear and why?

In 1969, I saved up enough money ($150…hey, it was 1969!)to buy a beautiful, used,sunburst Stratocaster that the local music store had on display. They sold it before I got there….and bait-and-switched me to a Telecaster (actually an Esquire) with a Gibson humbucker in the neck position, which I thought was the ugliest guitar I had ever seen. I was crushed….but it did play pretty good….and sounded like fire…..and….I’ve still got it. In fact, it’s the logo on my merch. The guys in Albert Collins’ band weren’t impressed though—thought I was mimicking the “ Master of the Telecaster”!

What do you like most about your new album?

My goal always is to show as many different things that the blues can be as possible. I think that’s a major strength of this record. Keys, harp, fast, slow, traditional, British….and Johnny Taylor! With daughter Sarah doing “ ain’t no sense in going home”!!

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I’ve been a cook/restaurant owner, an HVAC technician ( the burner service in the Midnight Service Call video on Youtube is real—the one in Lead Me Not In To Temptation less so)....and now, a college professor (no, not the classics….I teach heating and A/C.) You might find me at a softball game (I played up until last year–in a senior league called the Western Mass Relics!), at the Amherst Teddy Bear Rally (unfortunately now defunct), or checking out my son’s restaurant skills….or at St. Brigid’s Church, where I’m usually seated under the stained glass window where Jesus appears to be explaining the curveball to the apostles (no sacrilege intended—maybe he’s blessing the Last Supper). Or I might fix your heat on Christmas Eve. Or, best of all, I might be wielding that 1965 Telecaster somewhere near you