November 14

Just a quick little update for November. I'm offline for the next couple of weeks before the big End of Year Top 10 albums and singles.

Take care

LF

Albums

Artist: Horse Thief

Album: Fear in Bliss

Year 2014

Similar Artists: Kings Of Leon (early days), Grizzly Bear, R.E.M

My Rating: 7/10

Sometimes the unexpected things are the best kind. No preconceived ideas, no build up, no hype and ultimately no let down. Fear In Bliss the debut from Horse Thief fits the criteria perfectly for most of that as written above. I knew nothing about this band and still know little about them, but have been listening to the LP pretty heavily over the past 2 months.

It is an album that is a huge grower, one that not necessarily makes an immediate impact, but at the same time leaves you thinking “yes, there is something in here worth coming back for.” I can tell you now that there is not one killer track, instead an incredibly well rounded album that flows naturally from start to finish.

There are some heavier moments such as track two ‘I Don’t Mind’ and some graceful slower ballods like ‘Already Dead’; both seem to have the perfect place on the record. The favourite track for me comes in the form of ‘Devil’ – it has some really mesmerising charm mixed in with some crystal clean cut guitar. In fact, the majority of the record has that clean cut guitar hooks wandering throughout each track.

‘Little Dust’ and ‘Let Go’ are other notable tracks, but again this is an albums album. For 46 minutes the soothing rhythmics of Horse Thief will either take you away somewhere dreamy, or amp your positive mindset into something more positive. A very enjoyable listen and a late contender for a place in the top 10 albums of the year….

Here are some albums that have been hanging round for a little while now. They are all relatively decent, maybe 6/10 but have potential for some of you to really enjoy.

Hurray For The Riff Raff – Small Town Hero’s: Very Laura Marling like, shame it didn’t have a killer clinching factor for me!

Nick Mulvay – First Mind: supported Ben Howard before Ben Howard turned into a fool. Some good singer/songwriter tracks on this album

We Are Catchers – We Are Catchers: pretty exciting 60’s pop for the first part of the record, then it turns a bit bland