The Reindeer Section - 'Son Of Evil Reindeer' (Bright Star)
3/5
By: Toby L
As you can receive concept-albums in music, The Reindeer Section seem to also prove the existence of concept-bands - that is to say a group whose background is as intriguing as its actual produce.
The original and debut RS LP, 'All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear?', was recorded and completed in a mere week within the studio, its guiding force, Gary Lightbody, frontman of Snow Patrol, having written the material; although occasionally endearing, it lacked a sufficient focus and drive to really prevent itself from sinking into the depths of the Great British indie-archives.
You may be thinking that this is all well and good, but just what is the difference here between the 'Section and any other continually-rising band? Actually, it's quite simply that they're a super-group, composed of selected members deriving (predominantly) from the thriving and heavily-eclectic Glaswegian music-scene - and there's twenty-seven of 'em in total, to be precise.
So, of the characters you'll hear on this record, some in more substantial portions than others clearly, you may find an ever-dry and enchanting Roddy Woomble from Idlewild crooning over the electronic drum-driven 'Who Told You', or the typically slurry and strong Scottish-assault of Aiden Moffat on album-closer, the grand 'Whodunnit', the Arab Strap singer actually choosing to - shock! - sing as opposed to mock-drunkenly commentate about his decaying love-life.
Despite the distinctive variety of types that pop up from track-to-track, however, there's a surprisingly consistent downbeat and charmful theme to this record which deserves to meet the ears of eager melancholy-merchants - particularly the Delgados-esque strings and arrangement of the opening 'Grand Parade', or the lighter-pop offering of 'Strike Me Down', a cute duet between Eva's Jenny Reeve and The Vaselines' Eugene Kelly. Those in preference of something slightly more uplifting, though, will find little in such a direction - aside from recent-single, the hymn-like and soaring 'You Are My Joy'.
Live-sounding, occasionally moving and immensely easy to relate to at times - take sample lyric, 'I used to hope the phone would ring, but now I'm glad it doesn't,' for such evidence - 'Son...' is a record worthy of a residency in your CD-player. And the fact it took just a fortnight to complete is testament to the talent and ability of all those involved.
The Reindeer Section, then: taking into consideration the mammoth size of such an ensemble, and such a strong second-work, who ever said that big isn't better?
Artists in this article: The Reindeer Section
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