This is the third album from this Edinburgh outfit and collects a brace of recent singles plus other material into a great nine track long-player.
BM purchased it on CD because she likes to blast music in the car, other platforms having failed in recent years, namely:
Record player (cables eaten by pet rats)
Cassette deck (likewise)
MP3 player (permanently knackered for various reasons)
Anyway, ‘Doubtlands’ has already received multitudinal praise from all quarters so this review really just repeats what others have already said.
The record is a further exposition of Leo Bargery and his compadres’ vision of music, part widescreen rock, part falsetto funk and part introspective acoustic – plus some unique DNA which makes this combo something quite special…
New track ’68th From The Sun’ is breathtaking, with the guitar work better than even, grinding solos above skying vocals, actually reminiscent of The Afghan Whigs at their most soulful…
Other new ones like ‘Yawn When I Yawn’ are intimate (“she gave me her drugs…”) , recalling Van Morrison (admittedly bit out of fashion at the moment) and Jeff Buckley, while ‘Waiting Rooms’ is confessional (“I have weird thoughts…”) and heart-wringingly personal, a musical and lyrical backdrop that we can all project our memories and emotions onto… and that is the mark of the best music, and the longest lasting as well…
The rest of the band’s subtle and spare playing is also the perfect backdrop for Leo’s musings, loud when required and sparse when that is required.
And guitarist (and great solo herself) Annie Booth gets some solo and backing vocals on tracks like ‘Murmurations’ and ‘Stairwell Song’.
All these tracks are real growers – a possible contender for album of the year…