Having spent the past decade proving he can wield a guitar with the best of them, one of the island’s greatest musical exports is now letting his songs do the talking.

Davy Knowles, the Port St Mary boy who took the US blues world by storm, has just released ’What Happens Next’, his fifth album and, as the title suggests, marks a bit of a shift in his approach to his music.

From the bombastic groove-laden rock of the album’s first single, ’Light of the Moon’, to the no-nonsense ’Solid Ground’, a furiously catchy blend of hard rock and soul that, believe it or not, has no guitar solo at all, Davy has put his songs to the fore and reined in the tendency to smother his songs in long, blistering guitar lead breaks.

’When it came time to record this album, it was all about supporting the songs as opposed to "how quickly I can get to the guitar solo",’ said Davy.

’That was definitely a conscious move, absolutely. You shake a tree and a million great guitar players fall down, and especially looking online, it’s all turned into a gymnastics competition - almost like "How can I impress you in 20 seconds".

’I really don’t feel like I belong in that world, or can compete in it. So, I decided to really focus on a different area, and I’ve found that little shift far more inspiring and emotionally rewarding.

’Also, I found myself on-stage getting a bit sick of hearing myself rattle on during a solo. I think it was time for me to try and rectify that.’

Davy has packed a lot into this album and has broadened his own range of influences and horizons.

Rather than pay an eternal homage to the blues greats that have gone before him, he has looked towards more contemporary artists and sounds as a grounding for his song-writing, whilst still retaining a retro blues and soul feel to his music.

’Light of the Moon’ , with its mix of gritty, heavy riffing, 1960s hammond organ vibes and Davy’s soul-drenched vocals, wouldn’t sound out of place being played by the Queens of the Stone Age, while some songs are reminiscent of the Black Keys just as much as Muddy Waters.

’"Light of the Moon" was really inspired by Tony McPhee and The Groundhogs, and their album "Split", but I’d say there is a fairly wide set of influences on the record,’ he said.

’"River" was inspired by "Take Me To Church" from Hozier, which I think is such a remarkable and unlikely pop song. "Hell To Pay" was a Sly Stone/Fantastic Negrito idea, and there’s definitely some Black Keys influence going on throughout the album, maybe more noticeable on stuff like " Solid Ground".

’I wrote the final track "If I Ever Meet My Maker" for my Dad, and wanted it to have a folky, Ralph McTell-kinda feel. So there’s a bunch of stuff on there.’

Clearly, Davy had a meteoric rise in his early years as a barnstorming lead guitarist.

After leaving the Isle of Man with his band, Back Door Slam, Davy soon found himself feted as the future of US Blues rock, appearing on US television and played shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Jeff Beck, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Bonamassa, Peter Frampton, Joe Satriani, and Sammy Hagar, to name but a few.

Now, in the post-pandemic world, a growing family and a settled life in Chicago, Davy has made an album that lets him speak for himself in the way that he wants it to.

’I’ve spent most of my career trying to sound older than I am,’ he said.

’And now that I’m getting older, I figured it was about time to make an album that perhaps sounds a bit more like someone in their 30s may make.

Fans of his break-neck fret work shouldn’t worry though, as he still plans to let rip when he is back on stage.

’This album taught me about restraint in terms of guitar playing. I had to rein it in to let the songs breathe, but I am looking forward to re-imagining them and stretching out when we play live.’

’What Happen’s Next’ is available on CD or vinyl, or to stream. More information is available from davyknowles.com/