Album Reviews

Band: Clayhill Album: Mine At Last Label: Full TIme Hobby Release Date: Out Now Format: CD

Clayhills new album (introductary to me....) starts off highly promising as a calm folktronic effort on 'Beard' with Gavin Clarks oily vocals bringing Bruce Springsteen, possibly even E from Eels to mind. Plus we got Ali Friend from Red Snapper (!!!!) on double bass (yes, I wish they would re-form!) and Ted Barnes on guitar and keyboards. It starts as an acoustic track building up with the xylophones and chellos with synths, like the soundtrack to a calm stroll in the woods.

But then the album takes a turn. This initially I wasn't happy with, I felt it ruined it a little. But after a while it grew on me so they're forgiven. So 'Suffer Not' seems a nice fit for the song title. It's a more active song which introduces funky guitars to the duo vocals to create a somewhat lively mood for a somewhat dark context. Gracefully done.

One Nerve is a bluesy track mixed with soul - low acoustics which build to add percussion, slow drums, keyboard slamming and xylophones to a lovely none-overdone mix. Lying Breed follows with the chellos pairing up with the accordians to sometimes subtle swirling synths. At times on this album I feel like I could be listening to Calexico fronted by Bruce Springsteen - which isn't an insult, I like Calexico a lot.

So if you're a fan of Calexico, Springsteen, Bob Dylan and the new-folk genre, grab a copy of this. One of those special albums of this year.

Link: Clayhill Myspace