From the opening bars of the first track "hard road" (let's be edgy and use all lowercase) this album really grabbed me. I hope the band never tires of comparisons to The Verve, because it is meant as a compliment, and God, do I miss them.
Parallels to Richard Ashcroft and company aside, the band has found a nice balance between Oasis/Train sounding pop and wistful, orchestral twang. The music has a surprisingly folky bend that breaks them free from the Britpop tag (though Alternative Press joke and tout the shore as the finest Britpop band in California). The production really suits the different moods of the band, capturing the symphonic lushness at the end of the opening number as well as the understated, quiet power of the chorus to "take what's mine." The jangly guitar-driven "everything we are" stands in contrast to the guitar on the next track "waiting for the sun" where it's more of a shimmering accent, but each piece is touching and provokes feelings of both longing and possibility.
My favorite lyric from the record says so much with its starkness, when singer Ben Ashley muses about the misplaced love he's shared—"You and I move in… in a different way." If I had my way, the atmosphere of "coming down" would be more prevalent on the record, a boldness and energy that is a little rough, where one can feel the band let go… a great closer.
This eponymous full-length debut has just been released (a follow up to last year's EP, also self-titled, so don't get confused), so it will be interesting to see where it takes them. CD also has a video to "hard road." |