This UK 'Company' formed in 1999 with husband and wife singers Hannah and Alex Elton-Wall being the principal stakeholders.
Their stated aim for the band's fourth album is to capture a live, organic sound by recording quickly over just 6 days with Alex producing. Their studio is the old Methodist Chapel in Gloucestershire featured on the cover art.
The result is a 12 song collection of mostly wholesome, radio-friendly country rock. Hubby sings on three songs but their musical identity is forged by Hannah's voice.
The overall mood is upbeat and affirmative with only a couple of tunes exploring darker subjects. Scattered Earth is told from the point of view of a dead women whose broken heart lies buried while Swim is a slow, mournful ballad built around a fear of drowning in the nearby River Wye.
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Apart from this, the jangly beats and pedal steel guitar provide a solid, occasionally dull, English approximation of Americana although the refrain of the title track bears disarming resemblance to Sweet's Blockbuster!
It ends with Band Song, a seven minute musical statement of why they continue to make music despite the lack of fame and fortune; "The pedal steel still makes me want to cry" sings Hannah as part of the defiant 'we will go on' message.
The Redlands Palomino Company's website
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