ALBUM REVIEW; THE HORRIBLE CROWES, 'ELSIE'

*****

The Horrible Crowes are the brainchild of two men - The Gaslight Anthem frontman Brian Fallon and guitar technician Ian Perkins - and “Elsie” is the first record to be released by the duo. Blending together elements of folk, rock 'n' roll, blues and even soul, “Elsie” is a dark, evocative, expressive and quite simply brilliant album.

With a few small exceptions, Fallon and Perkins handle all the instrumental duties, marrying together guitars and bass, strings, piano and even an electric organ to create this bluesy, soulful yet rocky collection of tracks. The album progresses through this range of styles, from mellow opening tracks “Last Rites” and “Sugar” to the very rock-influenced songs like “Go Tell Everybody” and “Mary Ann” right through to the sombre and beautiful (and album highlight) “I Believe Jesus Brought Us Together”. Fallon has a distinctive vocal style that additionally lends itself to the variety of sounds created within “Elsie”, with a more gravelly voice for the rock-tinged edges contrasted by altogether more dulcet tones on the quieter side of the record.

Altogether, “Elsie” is a beautiful album and a superb debut. Lyrically and musically excellent, every song in the 45 minutes of music is in itself uniquely styled, and is simply one of this year's best albums.

COPYRIGHT Thomas Castle, November 2011