9

A band with a difference

On stage they appear as a magnificent eight-piece band, a full-blown musical mountain of sound. But the real brains behind the band comes from Tom Bootle and Joseph Kennedy, the starting point of Captive State and the original songwriters.

There are four alterable tracks on this record each developing within its own little world of sound, something between psychedelic and indie rock. The CD opens with the gentle rhythm of ‘Mona’. This song emits an other worldly feel, something that usually lights a spark in me, but on this one fails to stand out and raises no emotion. ‘China White Doll’ is another incredibly gentle song, but is gradually built to become quite upbeat with guitars and a brass section. These elements add limited atmosphere, yet the track supports much melancholy and sorrow. The two-minute piano ending concludes a dark break up song extremely well.

Space sounds revolve around ‘Weatherman’ giving it an eerie and quite gloomy bank holiday rainy day atmosphere. Vocals for this track are flat, low and occasionally dubbed as if an echo. The concluding track, ‘Lost’ is attacked with guitar strings at the start but becomes electric with a jazz riff and ends on an orchestral parade of trumpets.

‘Elmore Grove’ is not one of the most exciting things I have listened to over the past month, but it does have prosperity and longevity that will catapult the band, especially in the live sense, into the musical collections of individuals everywhere.