The Slow Show - Brother EP Review
“Fresh from a personal invite to support Elbow”.
rating: 4.5
Fresh from a personal invite to support Elbow The first phrase emblazoned in upper case and bold across the top of the Press Release. An impressive piece of information but one that belies the music that is on offer within this four track EP. Though, it goes some way to showing just how far this five piece of come since their foundation and formation of barely a year or so. On top of that theyre getting championed by the likes of renowned and influential Radio DJ/Presenter Steve Lamacq amongst others. Such is the way of up and coming bands that make an industry impact without a wider arrival, however with The Slow Show, there is a potential for the otherwise, that rare thing where beyond being able to infiltrate the musos, the journos and the whoevers of the music industry, you can take that and run with it, using them as a step on a set of stairs as opposed to the floor your arriving on at the top of those stairs. As previously mentioned The Slow Show as a fully functioning collective arent anywhere near long in the tooth, and any information you find on them are quick to tell you how recently formed they are, not for good reason though, because youd be hard pressed to find a band that sounds quite so mature, tender and full formed in what would still be classed as the band as entitys formative year(s). Midnight Waltz, their debut EP was released to critical acclaim last May, and but a year later its followed up by Brother, their sophomore EP which is likely to be as well received critically and expand their populous appeal.
With the aforementioned association with Elbow from their BBC requested support slot for the Radio 2 In Session at Manchester Cathedral, and their sharing a name with a song by The National, you may already have a preconceived notion of how The Slow Show may sound. Now, in some ways youd be correct, but in many ways you wouldnt. Whilst they clearly share a kinship with those associations, particularly in their mature and serious sounds, The Slow Show have more in common with the sounds that eventually lead to those acts and that style of indie, mining a classic style based in folk and Americana as much as it is indie rock, if not more so, audibly taking cues from the likes of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. God Only Knows starts, and a part of you wonders if, given the title, its a cover of The Beach Boys classic, its not. That, however, is no bad thing because what you have instead is an emotive arrangement of strings and brass building to a tender folk ballad, subdued and melancholic. When the vocals come in your hooked; so low and croaky you cant help but be reminded of Tom Waits, but theyre softer, more delicate, and with the light touches of melody the guitars bring and the atmosphere of the strings it is a beautiful opening track. Whilst your still sold on the emotion the second track begins and unveils itself to be the clear stand out of the EP, proving its worth as the title track. Reading descriptions of this band you often see the term cinematic bandied around, but with Brother you can really see why; the piano opening sounds immediately poignant as if it was underpinning the sombre close of a musical or a film from the 40s. When the piano subsides and the strings break the melody and arrangement is genuinely touching and like a film score, whilst catchy even all the same. The song progresses and you can really feel those Americana influences coming through like the last man standing after a shoot out in a not so much wild but depressed west. When the end comes, it comes too soon. http://youtu.be/9-x462f7UDY Dirty Little Secret keeps the feel of the first two tracks, but with it you can see the indie side shining through the most, as the drums almost take a lead and drive the track home; through the strings, the duelling male and female vocals, the effected vocal refrain of the title, the organ and the lead guitar as it builds and fills out like The National or Arcade Fire. Goodbye Rose too has that more modern inflection, particularly in its spacious reverb and the tone and repetition of the guitar alongside the piano. Throughout though the vocals are perhaps the selling point, so distinct they stand apart from others who deal in this style of music, sure there are many fond of the baritone but the croak and gravel have a specific character that you would recognise among a crowd. The cinematic quality is definitely something that too gives The Slow Show their own voice, instead of structuring the songs traditionally the songs do seem to score their tales leaving some elements unique to that portion of the story. This may be a downfall for some as some of those moments are genuinely beautiful, and you want to hear them again, but it shows a craft respectful of the story and arrangement more so than what is expected of a song. It could be a criticism but it certainly does leave you wanting more, wanting to revisit again and soon, to capture those moments once more. The Slow Show FacebookThe Slow Show Site