Creedence Shearwater revival. There, I've said it, you may have been thinking it, I had to get it out of the way.
Down to the nitty gritty. I love this EP. It is a romantic and wistful collection of tunes. The main instruments are piano, guitar and banjo with some tasteful glockenspiel thrown in for good measure and they are arranged with so much space it sounds positively cinematic. The lead vocal has a Noel Coward quality which lends itself perfectly to the ethereal backing and narrative nature of the songs. It makes me want to watch intelligent films and cry.
There is a strong thread of Americana running through this EP as well which I personally adore. Track 4 'Henry Lee' is sung to the melody of The Stars Are On The Ocean by the Carter Family but in a slower more contemporary style which is the way the folk scene seems to be going nowadays. I just thank God that they aren't butchering these timeless melodies like Seth Lakeman or Jim Moray.
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I would give this release 8 out of 10 as I think it is an accomplished and honest piece of work done by talented and unique musicians. However, I took 2 points off as I feel that if you saw them live you may get get cramp in your legs. It was released in October on Matador records. If you like this then you may also like John Smith and Nina Nastasia. Give it a listen.
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