Sunday, 1 July 2012

Honeymoon On Ice by Soulmates Never Die


Soulmates Never Die
Cowsnail Records


This EP opens with Rebecca, my favourite of the five tracks, but this whole collection of ‘100mph grunge-folk’, as he has described his own style, is well worth a listen. The scratchy vocals and elegant guitar hook you in, but for me it’s the unpredictability of the journey that appeals most. The songs are about wimps and girls and walking around and being bored and confused but never in an obvious way. In a way the format of guitarist/vocalist is the most difficult to succeed with because it is all down to you; there’s no band to cover up mistakes or distract the listener with a solo to hide a weak part of a track. With Soulmates Never Die there’s no need for that anyway and I feel the challenge of delivering time after time is met with aplomb.

I saw Soulmates Never Die at Long Division and he put on a great show there, confident and quirky but not intimidated by the awesome surroundings of Wakefield’s Old Court Room, this kind of sums up what I enjoyed most; the outsider on the inside sort of vibe that he created there is evident in each of these tracks. Have a look on YouTube at his cover of Ask by The Smiths too.

Matt Rhodie

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