MY GREY HORSE - ALBUM REVIEW

My Grey Horse - I Still Don't Understand (CRC Music) 
My Grey Horse - I Still Don't Understand

Release Date: 28th July 2014

I have to admit to being slightly surprised to find out these guys are from Stratford-upon-Avon as their sound suggests that they might come from some US logging town at the foot of a mountain and near a great lake. Wherever they come from, though, is relevant when the music is so engaging and enthralling. Opening tracks 'Need Wood', forthcoming single 'Days Will Follow' and 'About Time' are pitched somewhere between Grandaddy, the Futureheads and Kings of Leon having a dusk jam on their porch. By the time we get to 'Waste Of Air' the quintet's gorgeous multi-layered harmonies are taking full flight and on 'I Lived Here Once' the band are fully ensconced in 70s Americana. Despite the harmonies, there are question marks over the lead vocals at times but only a way that you might accuse Beck of not being the world's greatest singer and on tracks like 'Fortunate' and 'John D Longlake' the melodies and songwriting does more than enough to compensate.

Things pick up a little, pace wise, on 'All These Mornings' as the jittery guitars provide the perfect foil for the sleepy harmonies while on 'Big Night' some gorgeous keyboard work transports to a future imagined by a geeky teenager in 1970s America. This is well crafted and intricate stuff on display so if you're looking for a quick snack then move along. However, if you're looking for something with delicate flavours worth savouring then look no further than tracks like 'Too Slippy' and the sublime 'We Need To Work It Out'. Closing up with the piano lead stomp of 'You'll Never Learn' leaves things on a high note as the drums pound and the guitars grumble and whine in the middle distance. The harmonies, the moods and the craftsmanship in these songs are things to be applauded but I'd be tempted to give a bit of oomph to those lead vocals. If that were to happen then I think we'd be looking at something with the legs to go all the way.

More information: https://www.facebook.com/mygreyhorse?fref=ts

Live Dates:

2nd July - Brum Notes Magazine July Launch @ The Sunflower Lounge, Birmingham

22nd July - The Village Underground, Shoreditch w/The Veils

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