Left Outsides - And Colours in Between

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 7 / 11 / 2007

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I have personally known the members of the Left Outsides as friends, long before they even formed this two-piece. The group consists of Alison Cotton (vocals/viola/recorder/melodica), whom I first knew as a viola player in indie rock outfit Saloon, and Mark Nicholas (vocals/guitar/bass/glockenspiel), whom when I first met him, was the drummer in psychedelic/folk outfit Of Arrowe Hill. The band formed after their previous band, new folk outfit the Eighteenth Day of May split last year. ‘And Colours In Between’ opens with the short ‘Dog Leap Stairs’, which features thirty seconds of Beach Boys-style harmonies. ‘New Rainbows’ has plucked guitars, while Alison, whose vocals prove to be a revelation as she never mentioned to me before that she sings, instantly brings with her singing sunshine into your life. The whole song has a cool, mid 70’s vibe to it. ‘The Chameleon’ starts off sounding like an acoustic Velvets Underground doing ‘Venus in Furs’. Mark provides the vocals here which have a psychedelic edge, while Alison's viola, which floats over the top, recalls the Beatles ‘I Am the Walrus’. ‘Fallen By the Wayside’ has a viola and acoustic guitar intro. Alison's vocal here are reminiscent of those on the soundtrack to the 1973 film,‘The Wicker Man’. They are slightly eerie, beautifully dated and all the better for it. ‘A Kingdom of My Own’ is very groovy in a late 60’s way. Sung as a duet, it is very much a flower power pop number, very gentle and absolutely lovely. ‘The Other Side’ is also really gentle, acoustic based and recalls Simon and Garfunkel. ‘I Fear That I Have Lost My Way’ is more experimental, with darker guitar lines that recall Echo and the Bunnymen and Mazzy Star. Alison's harmonies sound quite eerie here. ‘Leaving the Frozen Butterflies Behind’ finds them back to rose tinted glasses territory and is a song to dance around to in the summer sunshine. Towards the end the acoustic guitar and viola melt together giving it a more contemporary feel. ‘Clouds Hill’ has a sad viola sound, while ‘Now It's Over’ begins again sounding like the acoustic Velvet Underground, but when Mark's vocal joins in it develops a Simon and Garfunkel gentleness to it. This is the last track but, if you leave it running, there are two secret tracks, a cover of ‘Now I'm Home’ which is a 60’s song, as well as a spoken word piece backed by bell chimes and harmonies. A lovely piece of work.

Track Listing:-

1 Dog Leap Stairs
2 Neon Rainbow
3 The Chameleon
4 Hotel On Green Corner
5 Fallen By The Wayside
6 A Kingdom Of My Own
7 The Other Side
8 I Fear That I Have Lost My Way
9 Leaving The Frozen Butterflies Behind
10 Clouds Hill
11 Victoria Hall
12 I Have Always Been Inclined To Follow My Dreams
13 Now It's Over

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