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Review: 'APPLE OF MY EYE'
'The Beast Below'   

-  Label: 'Pear O'Legs Records'
-  Genre: 'Folk' -  Release Date: '16th September 2016'-  Catalogue No: 'POLCD 005'

Our Rating:
Apple Of My Eye (AOME) are a seven-piece band of "uproarous troubadours" who formed in London but originate from Bristol.

This, their third album, was recorded live in the studio and features twelve story songs of "love, loss, transformations and damnations".

Strong vocal harmonies and a democratic division of labour make this a firmly collective effort backed by traditional acoustic instrumentation which includes cello, violins, mandolin, double bass, harmonica and bouzouki.

In many ways, AOME are like a more polite version of The Pogues, boisterous and full of rowdy energy but not so blatantly sozzled by acohol.

Despite being firmly rooted in British folk traditions, they also remind me of The Decemberists, particularly in the 'avast me hearties' title track, a rollicking sea-shanty in which the band join forces to do battle with a squid-beast ("What depth brought forth a creature so vast?").

The chosen subjects of the other songs range from a mining disaster (Cloth, Needle & Thread) and death (Dug In the Clay) to nonsense verse about animals and insects inPolar Bear ("A silkworm might have silk / But a milkman wears a pair of legs").

This mix of silly and serious songs makes for a lively but uneven mix and I feel the collection would benefit from a unifying theme. For instance, since there are several tunes set on or by rivers, brooks and oceans, a watery concept would be the most obvious choice.

Despite some more sober overtones the overall mood of the record is bright and breezy.

Even when characters like a convict en route to Australia or an Escape Artist are pitted against daunting odds there's always the feeling that all will end happily ever after.

Apple Of My Eye's website
  author: Martin Raybould

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APPLE OF MY EYE - The Beast Below