Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love - Feels, Feathers, Bog & Bees
From the reaches of England's High Peak, Low Low Low La La La Love Love Love seem isolated from the current music scene; folk or otherwise. This apparently keeps them refreshingly unaffected by trends in music not made in Wormhill - and there are few trends in Wormhill. Being caught up a world of their own isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's allowed them to create something distinctive, however it doesn't do them any favours in being accessible. Hell, not even their name is easily accessible; and it's awkward to bring up in conversation, regardless of how good the album is.
After a mediocre beginning, second track 'Blackbird 1' conjures some surprising textures, including some patches of guitar crunch, which instantly dismiss any assumptions made from the first track. Not a regular folk album, it seems, if a folk album at all. 'Where're You Goin'?' introduces some classic sounding melodies, but doesn't fall into the trap of depending on them. Instead, it detours from the accessible route a regular pop song would take, for something different. Very admirable.
There is an underlying guitar rumble throughout, adding a little edge. 'Flower In The Mind' carries on the subdued guitar, occasionally lashing out. A long screech triggers the climax in this one, rounding up the very Pink Floyd feel it has. 'Piano' serves as a break from the pace of the previous tracks, and only as that. Maybe a tongue-in-cheek title, but it's obviously an attempt to create some kind of pit stop before 'Friend To Mine' returns with the guitar distort, this time with what sounds like a banjo that doesn't quite fit the lo-fi feel of album.
For people that are already fans, 'Feels, Feathers, Bog and Bees' will be a satisfying follow up to 'Ends of June'. For people who aren't yet fans, it's a good example of what an album recorded in the Peak District sounds like. Pretty good, but it has little sense of direction or a train of thought. Nevertheless, it's a scattered collection of thoughts that fit nicely together in an album.
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