Page 23 - RYAN'S GIG GUIDE DECEMBER 2014

RGG December 2014 - p.23
There is a marked increase in pace as WW/ME
begins which is more than welcome as things were
in danger of becoming a little one paced but that
notion was stopped right before it became an
issue The drum breakdown at around halfway is a
standout moment and a very nice touch as it’s not
something which is used by bands all that often
The guitar riff which strums alongside these drums
gives the track a real skip in its step
The following track ‘I See Suns’ is so outrageously
close to being perfect its breath taking It’s the
rockiest track on the record and has everything
the vocal soars the verses build to an anthemic
chorus the guitars come to prominence and give
the track a nice edge but the synth sound through
the chorus is totally unnecessary But I’m not
going to dwell on that because the track is still
seriously high quality and probably my favourite
on the album
The pace is brought right back down by the
album’s title track which due to its shortness acts
merely as an interlude The soaring vocals coupled
with typically grand instrumentation sum up the
band very nicely Final track ‘A Map Made From
My Bones’ sees the band return to where they are
most comfortable High on atmosphere and with
the substance to match this ballad ensures that the
band go out on a highly tuned perfectly executed
note
Taking the album as a whole Hinterland is very
very good Of course there are the flaws which I
have mentioned but the high points are suitably
high enough to distract your attention When
these guys really hook the whole package together
as they do on the likes of ‘Nocturnal’ and ‘I See
Suns’ they are frankly breath taking However I as
I mentioned in passing in a couple of areas there
has been a slight tendency to over produce much
like with your girlfriends make up… less is more
Nevertheless those minor issues really shouldn’t
detract from what is an altogether rousing and
very enjoyable debut effort
the bedroom hour
J Holder