Stand Up With The Sound Turned Down

Halifax band The Belle Comedians have just brought a nice little EP Without A Sound which you can grab a download of here. I really liked the rollicking slink of opener 'Lost In The Straws', a swaying barroom ballad that evokes The Hold Steady, Drive By Truckers or even Aussie act Augie March at their most robust. The rest of the album develops from this promising beginning - 'Modern Touch' has that Springsteen swagger that many indie bands are tapping into right now, whilst 'Stop To Rust' is a haunting stop-start crawler and 'The Big Empty' echoes Jason Molina's Electric Magnolia Co. I know I've thrown a lot of touchstones out there, so Ill make it simpler - this is Americana writ large, with a dollop of Gothic and a quart of whiskey thrown expertly into the buttery batter. Whilst much of this can be attributed to chief songwriter and vocalist Benjamin Ross, the instrumentation in offer here is enveloping and engaging. These guys need more recognition - Im happy to give it to em.

The Belle Comedians - Lost In The Straws
The Belle Comedians - The Big Empty