Debut albums and Mancs are usually a
match made in heaven, so let’s hear what Folks (Scott Anderson (Vocals),
Michael Beasley (Guitar), Thom Fripp (Lead Guitar), Harry Gumery (Bass), Wil
Akroyd (Keyboards) and Elliot Barlow (Drums) have to offer; I hope it’s every
bit as good as their live
sets that seem to effortlessly captivate the crowds.
The album’s urgency-fuelled
introduction boils over with promise as a wealth of possibility ebbs and flows
between the slightly surreal reprises and Beach Boy backing vocals which
intercut it, before ‘My Mother’ abruptly ends without warning. The signs are all good so far; who knows,
maybe we’ll have another merit-worthy Manc outfit to admire?
A somewhat blissed-out
‘Avalanche‘ follows, meandering yet managing to maintain the upbeat tempo of
its predecessor as it emulates a Gibb brother-driven ‘Tomorrow
Never Knows’. Sadly, this (free
download) debut release closes in a cloud of indifference, without
leaving any real impact.
Simplistic ‘People
I've Known’ revisits the fab four once more, as ‘I’m only Sleeping’
subtly seeps in and out of an uninspiring composition that’s perhaps saved only
by the sleepy Sunday lead vocal.
Upbeat and energetic
‘Skull & Bones’ sticks to the same non-offensive
formula that ultimately, has failed to offer
anything new to further the listener since the outset of what’s so far proved to
be a middle of the road album. Some all
too infrequent breakdowns supply some unexpected and possibly Zepp-inspired aural
highlights that echo and all too overused ‘Cashmere’.
Lead by a vocal
tenderness that practically undermines all else involved. ‘Ink’ is a short and gentle,
easy going song that pleasingly stirs both Gomez and Dylan’s ‘Fourth Time Around’
to great effect.
Giving us the most
established sounds of the CD so far, the surely ‘Don’t go Away/Stop Crying your
heart out’-inspired ‘Where does the White Go?’ engages and ensures we listen in
to a track that tragically fails to find itself in unchartered territory.
With its repetitive,
almost nauseating drum-filled backdrop ‘Do the Right Thing’ is undeniably
catchy yet serves only as typical flipside fodder; its only saving grace is
that it (once again) sounds a little like the majestic Gomez.
Shot through with the
sounds and sentimentality of the Smiths’ ‘There is a Light that Never goes Out…’
and spurring ill-founded excitement, accessible ‘Anywhere You Want to Go’ fails
to live up to the expectations initially instilled by a great sounding but all
too repetitive track.
Studio trickery only
serves to infuriate as its absurd absence is sorely highlighted during ‘Venom’
and ‘I See Cathedrals’ has started to feel like a polished jamming session. Flashes
of Badly Drawn Boy’s ‘More than a Woman’-influenced ‘Silent Sigh’ go a long way
to improve matters and actually, this could be the best, most diverse and dynamic
offering yet.
The Beach Boys’ ‘God
Only Knows’ closely stalks the sonically refreshing ‘Say Something’, an organ-driven track that pleasingly features an inviting
chorus that annoyingly gets repeated and tramples upon any unrealised potential
towards the tracks close.
Owing for the lead
vocal, buoyant ‘Four & Twenty Blackbirds’ would do Radiohead proud. Non-engaging storytelling rides the penultimate
tracks natural propulsion towards the most diverse outro yet heard herein.
‘The Ship’ predominantly
serves as a vocal tribute to both Liam Gallagher and John Lennon, whilst the
latter’s ‘Oh My Love’ & ‘I Don’t Want to be a Soldier’ are simultaneously summoned
within the atmospheric mixing.
I guess the missing
element of this album is the swagger that numerous Manc lad bands such as
upstarts Lowline or My Captive Audience tend to have.
That’s not to say that we need more of that all too commonplace ‘I’m God’s
gift to music’ Manc attitude of course, but I
like FOLKS, they just need to inject a little more pizzazz into their
somewhat repressed and ultimately unrealised sound.
Wearing their influences
on their collective sonic sleeves will do no harm either, especially if it
lands them support slots with the likes of Noel Gallagher, but what I really
want to hear is this band loosen up a little, before they miss Manchester’s musical
renaissance that’s now come around in a wave of band reformations (thanks to
the Stone Roses and their inspiring Heaton Park payday!).
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