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It’s enough to induce hyperventilating and
mild sweating when Gigwise receives an album from
a band who state their influences so prosaically
and disparate as the Foo Fighters to Billie Holliday,
from Harry Connick Jnr to Imperial Drag! Asthma
attacks and perspiring aside, there is no need to
beware Raised By Animals as their debut album, ‘As
Nature Intended’, is full of likeable tunes
that are melodic and downright crackers.
‘Stars and Guitars’ opens the album
with frontman Paul Mainon’s sweet voice quickly
turning fierce with occasional falsetto flourishes.
This is upbeat and bassy as a song about the longings
of wannabe rock stars. ‘Talking Circles’
is mid-tempo and funky with indie-ish guitars and
harmonised vocals. Track 3, ‘Rabbit Soup’
is a mad, psychedelic tale about gallivanting around
the countryside. ‘You Said…’ plays
host to some Procol Harem style organs as an emotive
and reflective ballad.
A totally unexpected Oscar Wilde quote creeps in
to ‘Down Here Looking Up’ (if you can’t
tell which one from the title, then shame on you).
This track has a really strange, illogical arrangement
and seems a bit all over the place but somehow,
it works. ‘Me and My Flashlight’ opens
with a line spoken by Jackie Gleason in Smokey and
The Bandit, saying ”What we are dealing with
here is a complete lack of respect for the law”.
Quite fitting as this quirky, Starsky and Hutch
guitar driven track is about bank robbers and the
spoken sample was first featured on The Prodigy’s
‘Their Law’ in 1994. Thieving gits!
‘Firefly’ is a slow, acoustic number
that seems to have no motivation. ‘Canned
Air’ is the best track on here. It is instantly
happy and lively with plunky chords, impressive
vocals and a catchy chorus. ‘Metrospect’
is a satisfying tune about spending idle days in
Paris. It features some piano’s that are more
suited to Uncle Albert tickling the ivories down
the Nags Head rather than a sophisticated Montmartre
café, but it is likeable all the same. ‘Wellington
Street Crash’ diverts from Paris to Barnsley
on a Saturday night, with a flute! This doesn’t
paint a very pretty picture of Barnsley and doesn’t
really possess the charm or wit of similar tale
‘I Predict A Riot’, courtesy of their
former touring pals. A few “I tell thee”s
will get you far in this game. And I’m beginning
to think that West Yorkshire isn’t the best
place to frequent on a weekend.
As likeable as it is, this is a pedestrian album
that never really gets going. It seems to lack direction
and determination but the potential is there. There
are some bonkers themes going on which is appealing
and their burgeoning live reputation should back
them up. Maybe they should think about toning down
those schizophrenic influences. Gigwise.com,
Feb 2006 |
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