Everybody Loves Ray
Three albums and six years into a career that has promised much but delivered little in the way of commercial success Ray return with another slice of top draw, sky-scraping post-punk. The strident 'Great Strange Dream' sounds like a lost House of Love classic, Nev Bradford's nasal vox recalling Guy Chadwick in his prime. It's a single that exposes the poverty of ideas currently being offered up by a number of more fashionable yet less beguiling indie outfits.
Mark Bradford's textured guitar work throughout this single is so good it even outweighs the slightly muddy production (a slight blemish on an otherwise perfect copy book). Extra track 'The Red Veins In His Eyes Don't Lie' recalls the swirling grandeur of 'Heaven Up Here' era Echo and the Bunnymen going off on a minor psychedelic tangent. This all bodes well for the band's forthcoming album (due in the summer) which surely has the potential to be a post post-punk classic.