On old-fashioned 10″ vinyl, this debut EP mixes retro folk stylings with more contemporary soundscapes. The five-piece are from Glasgow but feature members from Lanarkshire, as well as Fife twins Andy and Mike Truscott, on drums and cornet respectively. And it’s the driving rhythms and soaring brass that make the band’s sound as much as Mark Farmer’s intense vocal performance which is buoyed by his bandmates to form swelling choruses. Formed in 2008, the band predate the rise in folk that the likes of Mumford and Sons and Stornoway have spearheaded, and this release is the result of their honing their craft through live shows around the country. Of the four tracks, ‘Young Francis’ is a stirring singalong that might spark comparisons with Arcade Fire, while ‘Countryside’ sounds straight out of, well, the 1600s, with an almost baroque feel. ‘Amongst Other Things’ exhibits a pastoral ambience, but it’s ‘Roses’ medieval stomp that is their tour de force – it could well soundtrack a march to greater things.
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