LITTLE RED – STICKS & STONES (All Will Be Well
Records)
Whilst it might be common practice to rely on first
impressions in the arenas of job interviews, speed dating and general
elections, we reviewers are supposed to look more closely, to sift the full evidence
objectively before drawing a conclusion.
Pity, really, because it means that we judge this album by local trio
Little Red to be a pleasant bundle of contemporary folk, when our hearts are
still alight from the opening track, that made us sit up and take notice like
nothing else on the record.
Said tune, “What Say You” is just charming. From a clean finger-picked guitar figure,
that has a whiff of the cosy, unflurried ‘70s library music style that Trunk
Records christened Fuzzy Felt Folk, closely
entwined male and female vocals bob on a charming little melody, like a toy
boat on a choppy duckpond. It sounds
limpidly lovely, but like so many great folk tunes, the jaunty music hides a black
heart, the lyrics telling of betrayal, disappointment and visceral knife crime. There is a wonderful moment where the guitar
drops out to let the vocals declaim the chorus unaccompanied, that structurally
seems to owe more to club bangers than any folk tradition, and in all, the song
is a micro-epic, hinting at a full and macabre tale in its 1’48” running time.
It would be unfair to criticise the remaining 8 tracks
too harshly, but none of them can challenge this jewel of an opener. There are plenty of sweet, sugary harmonies in
the vein of Trevor Moss and Hannah Lou, and songs like “The Garden” recall our
very own August List, albeit lacking in the bite that they would bring. “Bonnie And Clyde” typifies the record, a
beautifully put together little tune, right enough, but perhaps a touch too
smooth, and with a “you and me against the world, babe” theme that is hackneyed
and shopworn.
In the future, we’d like them to either build on the
wide-angled sounds of “Petal” or “Bonnie & Clyde” and make a giant,
unashamed Clannad meets Fleetwood Mac studio confection, or alternatively to
strip things down, get some dirt in the gears, and grind out something deeper
and darker. For now, this is an assured
debut, with plenty to recommend it, but prettiness and poise might not bring
out the best in Little Red – we’d like them to be rather less Little, and a
much richer, bloodier Red.
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