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A classical spin

“Balletesque” is the sophomore full length album from the Tennessee six piece and it’s an intriguing mix of melodic indie, country, blues, jazzy brass (which gives the odd track a ska feel) and classical with a strong string sound. The album fizzles with energy and the influences come thick and fast; Arcade Fire, The White Stripes, Tom Waits, Arctic Monkeys, but there are older sounds too; tracks like ‘Sam Clemens’ sounds like Jack White doing The Beatles with a string accompaniment.

The record is full of lovely classical arrangements and this combination with the brass and the more contemporary sound of the drums and guitars playing indie-rock riffs gives a multitude of possibilities; tunes like ‘Black Duck Blues’ are (unsurprisingly from the title) country-blues foot stompers, then there is the dark almost Lynchian edge on ‘Sam Clemens’ followed by the almost Pixies sounding ‘Balletesque’, ‘The Wolf’ has an Americana feel (think Calexico) and ‘Tidal Wave’ is like a lesson in how to mix heady orchestral sounds with meaty riffs and is reminiscent of both soundtrack style classical scores and jagged, quirky, indie-rock like Mewithoutyou.

This is an eclectic record, as you’ve probably gathered by now. The scale of some tracks is dizzying and then you are brought back to earth for an easy, sweet indie melody or perhaps a country track with slide guitar, there is just so much to explore here and the album goes in a flash when you listen, so multi layered and diverse is it. The joy of it all is though that it is just so easy to listen to, no harsh edges, no bum riffs and despite the depth it is wholly cohesive, never overwhelming or heavy going. An achievement indeed.