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News StandNEW - FEB 06 Crooked Rain Calabasas review 14/2/06 - The Sundowns - Calabasas Calabasas (Spanish for pumpkin, allegedly) is the follow up to 2001’s Merchant House Tapes, and finds the Edinburgh outfit on good form The album displays a good blend of pop garnished country rock, and the dual vocals of Keith Benzie and Ross Taylor bring something extra to the mix. ‘Wendy’ is a great combination of Taylor’s roughly hewn voice and some fairly tender lyrics, and ‘Hollow’ has great interplay between the two frontmen. The Sundowns play straight ahead rockers (‘Better off’), laid back americana (It’s You) and Tupelo tinged acoustic numbers (August Time) as well as anyone. ‘It’s You’ has some great pedal steel work from Ali Campbell (insert UB40 joke here), and the album’s general west coast vibe hits fine and true. ‘Hollow’ and ‘August Time’ are my personal standouts and only 1 track, ‘Mockin Bird’, didn’t agree with me. Calabasas was released last year, and is receiving some well deserved promotion now. Since the initial release The Sundowns have been busy, adding Rachel McKenzie to the band and gigging heavily. They have plenty ambition as well as talent, so the name should become more familiar over the coming months. www.thesundowns.co.uk Benston Smithy AMERICANA UK Celtic Connections, G2, Glasgow - 22nd January 2006 Review by Paul Kerr A full house greeted this showcase for three Scots bands under the umbrella of the Celtic Connections Festival. Kicking off the show Red Bee Society, an up and coming Glasgow band, played a short set displaying a fine songwriting talent. “Two Cops” in particular sounded like a more melodic Lou Reed fronting a young fresh Velvet Underground but the band didn’t have time to build up any momentum. Next up were Hobotalk and what a revelation. With the pastoral sound of their last album I didn’t expect such a visceral attack on the songs with the four piece band at times playing up a storm. Opening with “Melody Got Your Name” they were able to recreate the Greenwich Village folk sound achieved in the studio with Marc Pilley’s nimble fingerpicking on acoustic guitar appearing effortless. His voice is immediately captivating with a definite hint of Tim Hardin’s wounded soul therein. On stage however the band stretched out the song with Pilley singing away from the mic, hollering as a ragaesque mood took over. “Give Your heart” and “Little Light” flowed by reminding one what a fine album “Notes On Sunset” is. A song from their ill-fated first album, “Never Said When”, dedicated to Vashti Bunyan, drew cheers from the crowd, the chorus repeated until it felt as if we were in a church. With brushed drums, sympathetic keyboard and understated guitar there was a warm intimate sound coming from the stage but on the next song “It Might Not Be Too Late” the band again fleshed out the original laid-back original to encompass a sound akin to the wide open spaces of Glen Campbell’s glory years with Pilley thrashing and wailing like a man possessed. “Letter From A Friend” got a similar makeover then “Who Are You Now” returned to the warm intimate side of the band. They finished with the closing song on their album, “On the Edge Of Nowhere”, the closest to lightheartedness all night with honky tonk piano and join-in chorus leading to an uplifting finale. A tremendous show with unexpected dynamics from a band with great material to play. Closing the night The Sundowns ambled onto the stage to reveal a nine piece line up, introduced by Keith Benzie as the Polyphonic Sundown Review. With added banjo, mandolin and female vocals they conjured up a thick muddy wall of sound rolling over the audience like a Mississippi riverboat’s wake, exemplified by their cover of Powderfinger. Favourites such as “Hollow” and “Wendy” were interspersed with some newer material with “Should of Guessed” coming across as a classic beer stained country tearjerker, pedal steel to the fore. The band closed with a tremendous version of “Comes around” with Ross Taylor’s guitar hook guiding the band into Blue Oyster Cult Reaper territory with counterpoint vocals and a tremendous climax. Last song, “Bad Cloud”, a Byrdsian jaunt left the audience wanting more. Overall a great night. CROOKED RAIN - The Sundowns, Hobotalk, Red Bee Society - CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL, GLASGOW 22nd Jan 06 Tonight's large crowd is testement to the fact that we are in the company of some of the rising stars of the Scottish alternative music 'scene'. The Sundowns affable drummer, Keith Jones (a.k.a. alt-country's answer to Lemmy), tells us that tonight's Sundowns show is being recorded for future release - the next step in the band's drive to achieve notoriety. It will be a chance to capture the band's new, fuller sound - tonight, no less than nine bodies will take the stage as the headline act of the evening. The opening act is Red Bee Society. Glasgow-based, the five-piece, who have national airplay and two singles under their belt, treat us to a highly original set which takes from British influences such as Bowie and The Smiths. RBS buck the trend somewhat with the inclusion of a cello player to complement their guitar-based sound. Full marks to an accomplished performance in the opening slot. I am reliably told that Hobotalk have been around for years. In fact, I seem to be one of the only people in this packed crowd who doesn't realise this and over the course of the set, I feel shamed into wondering why I haven't came across this band sooner. From the kick-off, it is clear that these guys are a well-honed act with a real chemistry between the players. Thie sound is light and sweet, but with real depth, and is layered with accoustic guitars, shuffling beats, honky-tonk piano and shrill harmonica. I have never used the phrase 'chilled out' before, for fear of being labelled as a metrosexual, but perhaps in this context the phrase applies! What's more, the guys have a great image (not that this matters of course, it's all about the music, man!). The best get-up of the evening has to go to Hobotalk's Chris Robinson-esque guitarist. It would be wrong, however, to dwell on style when there was so much substance to the band's wonderful set. For influences, look towards the lighter rock sounds of the seventies - Neil Young, Bread, The Eagles. Look out for this critically-acclaimed band soon. Before handing over to The Sundowns, Hobotalk are highly complementary of the band to whom they have handed over the headliner reigns tonight. "The soundcheck sounded great", we are told, so what will the main event have to offer? The collective that takes the stage tonight includes an arry of additional musos - Keys from Attic lights, Rachael Mckenzie who sings with BMX Bandits, plus the two members of Edinburgh-based alt-country act Dropkick picking banjo and mandolin. The inclusion of the extra instruments is presumably an attempt to bring The Sundowns country leanings to the fore - the band have an ability to sound more traditionally country, but this by no means epitomises their sound, and in fact, the band's sound often edges more to the indie (BMX Bandits/Tennage Fanclub) or the MOR (Eagles/The Byrds). That said, they are prone to throwing in a jolly-good hoe-down occasioanlly, with great effect! Tonight's fifty-minute set is accompolished and entertaining, with Big Keith on the skins playing-it-up for the recording with a fair bit of chat - at one point referring to a band member as 'ya pie!' Every time I have seen The Sundowns I have been impressed at the well-rehearsed, polished nature of the set, and with tonight's expanded posse of players, the standard shows no sign of deterioration. The challenge now is to take things to the next level (they're already big in Holland apparently!) They have the potential to appeal to a broad audience and the signs are good - evidenced by the size of the crowd tonight. The key will be promotion. They have already have two albums behind them and are known in cult circles as a tight live-act. It is now time to capitalise on their potential, get the heads down, do the circuit and get noticed. Sundowns - your time is now! Lambert Butler NEW - dec 05 MAVERICK MAGAZINE< - ***/b> A really enjoyable CD with a definate Indie-esque feel. Beautiful, simple songs make up the track listings for this excellent album. The first thingI was reminded of when listening to the CD was early material by the Stereophonics. In fact Keith Benzies voice sound spookily like Kelly Jones' in places and thats definately NOT a bad thing, it has that husky grainy quality that makes every song drip with some unspoken pain. Although there are smatterings of steel guitar and an odd twang of the banjo, this is definately not your traditional country album by far. Instead it subtly blends the two genres, making for some pleaseing instrumentals and interesting collaberations. It's hard to pick favourites on an album with ten strong songs, but if pressured into making a decision I would say flick onto WENDY, MOCKING BIRD AND AUGUST TIME, all well worth a listen. But then again, it would be a crime not to mention LONG DISTANCE CALL & HOLLOW both of which put up a good fight for song of the album. From generally modest packaging this cd IS A tempting taster from a band who would be worth looking out for, plus theres those handy lyrics on the front cover for all those intent onwarbling along when by their lonesome - or not dependent on confidence levels. My final though - I wonder if they're as good live as they sound compressed onto disk. form our Friends in Holland Trans lation to follow!! BBC CELTIC ROOTS SITE Americana UK give sundowns a veritable kicking... The Sundowns "Calabasas"
(Charger Records) Review by Michael Mee: 10 out of 10
A bright, shiny and brilliant new dawn. Whatever they've added to the water in Aberdeenshire they should bottle it and sell it because they'll make a fortune. From the slightly unlikely corners of the very north of Scotland, Dalgety Bay in Fife and Moffat in the Scottish Borders, comes a band that captures perfectly the freedom of spirit that defines the best in Americana. SUNDOWNS play Belgrade! kind of... Our good friend Pete Doris made a video for Hollow, from Calabasas, and it's being aired at an arts festival in Belgrade on the 13th May. The Sundowns - Barfly, Glasgow - 21st April 2005 Review by Paul Kerr Scotland’s latest alt country sons played a 40 minute set to a smallish crowd who appeared to have turned up to see headliners Attic Lights. By the last song, the Byrdsian “Bad Cloud” they had turned the audience around with a wilful display of strongly written songs played by a band well versed in the music they obviously enjoy. Songs from their latest album “ Calabasas” sounded fine live with “Comes Around” in particular building in tension with great harmonies and a fine line in understated twang guitar from Ross Taylor and some tasty drumming from Keith Jones. Although the band can churn up a storm as on “The Last One’s Free” they showed a mellower side on “August Time”, with acoustic guitar and tambourine only adorned by some handclaps from the other band members. Keith Benzie’s vocals were muddied through the sound system on some songs but the addition of a female vocalist (introduced only as Rachel) on their cover of Laura Cantrell’s “Churches Off The Interstate” brought the loudest cheers of the night as they played a song that could have been a standard Gram and Emmylou piece. The other cover of the night, The Byrds “100 Years From Now” set the audience up for the closer, the aforementioned “Bad Cloud”, a song that could have graced the Byrds “Sweetheart of the Rodeo” and drew whoops and hollers from the audience. A strong performance from a band who are building up a repertoire of songs steeped in the traditions of the best of Americana. The opening act, Paul Napier, played a solo set and endearingly used his mobile phone to time his set. His songs are indebted to the Buckleys and, to my mind, Roy Harper, some nice guitar work. Headliners, Attic Lights, displayed a split between excellent Beach Boys/power pop vocal harmonies and Neil Yong /Rick Danko country laments. At the end of the night all of the acts got together for a wonderfully shambolic version of the Stones’ “Dead flowers” A fine way to end a night of home grown takes on those old hot licks. review from americana uk 26th April 05 Nice timing, Sundowns. Spring is just starting to defrost a crappy winter, so what better time for SAD sufferers to fall in love with your warm, breezy, pastoral set of janglesome country? That the Edinburgh quintet aren't at least minor delegates of the international alt. country scene by now is a crime. This, their second album, opens with as fine a take off on Smog as yo're likely to hear in "Better Off" and continues in fine style with the Teenage Fanny-esque "Long Distance Call" and the gruff pedal-steel charm of "Wendy", for example. It's like listening to sunshine. THE LIST 14/4/05 4 out of 5 Calabasas gets album of the month on the medicine show! north eatern radio show. The List review from Issue 515, 17th Feb 2005 'If The Sundowns had formed a decade and a half ago, people would surely talk about them today in the same breath as Teenage Fanclub or BMX Bandits. But they're all too fresh-faced for that, which means a battle through a contemporary Scots musical landscape already densely populated by New Wave plunderers and agit-folk outfits. Perhaps that explains why they're hitherto pretty much unheard of, even though they've supported the diverse (to put it very mildly) talents of The Delgados and Status Quo. While the debut album The Merchant House Tapes was a polished gem, the forthcoming follow-up Calabasas - launched here - deserves to sink them into the hearts of young and old across the land. It seems to be a more subdued offering, the pedal steel assisted likes of 'Different Drug' and 'Wendy' strolling down the middle of a country road with the Eagles and Parsons-era Byrds. Their execution is subtle yet fastidious, sounding laid back yet obviously taken great care of, while the closing country-pop charge of 'Handlebars' proves they're so much more exciting than just a lazybones MOR-fest.' (David Pollock) SUNDOWNS READY TO EMERGE FROM THE TWIGHLIGHT When their self financed debut, the Merchant House Tapes, was released in 2002, The Sundowns were enjoying enough acclaim to suggest big things were round the corner. A few years on, despite some prestigious support slots, the Edinburgh alt. Country five piece still occupy roiughly the same position – critically acclaimed but commercially ignored. That, however, could be about to change. Launching their new album, Calabasas, at Bannermans last night, The Sundowns showed they may trouble the mainstream yet. After a strong warm up set byAngus duo Dropkick, the band played an hours worth of refined, laid back old and new material. Of the newer stuff, the most radio friendly tune was August Time, while the next song, Hollow, provided a slice of nice, gentle, country tinged rock. But one of the biggest cheers of the night was reserved for old favourite, Handlebars. Fittingly, the crowd roared for and were treated to an encore. That they were still screaming for more says it all really. Edinburgh Evening News 02/05 THE SUNDOWNS “The Merchant House Tapes” (Independent, 2002) From the first notes of the debut album from Aberdeenshire band the Sundowns, there’s a real lift to the Sundowns’ music that compels you to just keep listening – which could explain the interest from labels at the moment in signing them. A four piece who make timeless americana the way the Cosmic Rough Riders and Teenage Fanclub make timeless pop, songs like “I’m Luke” are totally devoid of overindulgent navel-gazing and instead focus on the exuberance of good, live alt-country – think the Jayhawks’ “Miss Williams Guitar” or Jay Farrar’s “Caraytid Easy.” Indeed it’s difficult to believe at times that the whole thing’s not some subversive con-trick from Son Volt themselves, which is about as good a thing as you can say about a band. americana-uk 2002 NO FLAT PACKS OR BIG TROUSERS Well, heres a new one. No half assed skate punk or homogenous, flat packed indie; instead, it’s the return of real, rootsy country music to the Scottish scene. As befits a band launching a great debut album (The Merchant House Tapes) at this gig, the turn out is respectable, if not commendable. And it’s not justtoken support from the band’s mates, because everyone seems to be genuinely enjoying this one, as you can tell from the impromptu ceildh down the front. The heavy Teenage Fanclub/ BMX Bandits influemncesof the album are rectreatedhere in all their summery glory with songs like “I’m Luke..” and “Handlebars”. But then, someof the newer material comes as close as you can get to melding Neil Young’s more pastoral side and Kenny Rodgers parent pleasing pleasantries with some coke rockin’ Eagles glue. Add to that a lazy hoe down version of “teenage kicks” and smoe Dukes of Hazzard style car chase banjo on “badcloud”, and you’ve got the best new band in ages. Truly inspired. The List 08/02 SUN WON’T GO DOWN ON COUNTRY BAND DESPITE BAD POSTURE Whether it’s line dancing down the legion or rocking to Teenage Fanclub, Scotland has always had an affinity with Country music. Leaning heavily towards the latter of those options are the Sundowns, Edinburgh’s own Gram Parson soundalikes. And a damn fine rockn’roll job they do too. Last night was the launch of their excellen debut album, the Merchant House Tapes, and the band showed that there was plenty of music muscle behind their debut release. Before them……blah blah, posture were shite…blah blah… Thank the Lord then for the Sundowns. A more amicable and friendly bunch you’d be hard pushed to meet, and the band’s lackadaisical attitudeto their craft was as refreshing as it was entertaining. With duel singers and guitarists Keith Benzie and Ross Taylor jousting in jovial fashion, the scene was set for a laid back treat of a gig. Some of the best stuff was delivered early, like the Teenage Fanclub romp of Handlebars or the Jayhawks twang of Dutch Courage. But there was plenty of other good stuff to choose from, not least the sleepy gentrified vesion of The Undertones’ Teenage Kicks which obviously got the crowd going. And as the gig went on the band got into their stride, even airing a couple of new tunes which showed plenty of promise for the future. Encoring with the ho-down shindig of Badcloud, it was clear the Sundowns have a big future ahead of them. Edinburgh Evening News. July 02 |
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