Glass Ankle - Fragments EP (Sleeper Train Records)
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| Glass Ankle - Fragments EP |
Release Date: 7th April 2014
Danny, Chika, Samir, Greg and
Charlotte are five ordinary looking guys and girls from the North-West of
England producing psyche-folk music. Those are the facts, all the rest is pure
opinion. This six track collection from the Mancunians starts with the light
and airy 'Poor Boy' which has a Belle & Sebastian delicate touch as the Ukulele
strums, the strings pluck and the clarinet swoons. However things take a turn
for the sombre on 'Secondary Now' which sounds like Radiohead having a bash at
'A Space Oddity' with Keane on production duties. The age of digital music has
evened up the playing field and made it possible for more musicians to
experiment which is, I think, why we are now seeing an increasing number of
secret tracks or interludes on digital releases, such as the stutteringly
sinister string work on 'Fragment'.
There are some lazy beats and
woozy Cello on 'Unlike You' which is either a song about using Facebook or someone
of an incomparable nature - either way it's a luscious but oddly bleak piece of
music. And that seems to be where Glass Ankle excel, in the half light between
the darkness of the heart and lightness of the love it can contain. 'Fleeting'
is another psyched out interlude that leads us in to the final track in the
shape of 'One Of Them', a bluesy, countrified acoustic pick that takes a turn
towards Sparks or Roxy Music as it builds towards a fitting crescendo and even
a guitar solo. The only nagging feeling I have is that I have come across this
band somewhere before but I cannot for the life of me think where. I must be
getting old....
More information: http://glassankle.com/
Live Dates:
12th April - The Spice Of Life, London
19th April - Gulliver's, Manchester
25th April - The Young Pretender, Congleton
1st May - Pearly Jams @ The Green Room, Sheffield
21st June - Ravenstonedale Festival, Eden Valley