August List - High Town Crow

by Malcolm Carter

published: 25 / 1 / 2014

Label: Ubiquity Project Records
Format: CDS

Irresistible second EP from superb Oxfordshire-based Americana act and husband-and-wife duo, the August List

Review

Husband and wife duo Martin and Kerraleigh Child gained good reviews for their debut EP ‘Handsome Skin’; the Oxfordshire based duo delivered four outstanding songs of chilling Americana. Injecting their take of this age-old music with elements of punk and a rawness that was highlighted by stomping foot percussion, it was a sound that held your attention and, with Kerraleigh taking most of the lead vocals on that first EP, her ability to display tenderness through her vocals while still sending chills down your spine was further proof that this duo really were something special. The duo’s second EP featuring another four original songs (Kerraleigh and Martin make all the sounds on ‘High Town Crow’. Apart from the expected guitar, harmonica and drums, the pair make good use of harmonium, mellotron and the melodica all of which help add to the eerie atmosphere this EP conveys) is, while a continuation of their debut, an indication that the couple have progressed since recording that first collection of songs. There is still that rawness, still a slightly punky attitude but these songs are instantly accessible and likeable. While that debut was mightily impressive, the songs on ‘High Town Crow’ are even more striking. Right from the opening song, ‘All to Break’, the spirit of late 60’s Dolly Parton is apparent, not Parton’s saccharine, commercial side but those sides that were slightly disturbing like some of the Porter Wagoner songs she recorded. Kerraleigh’s vocal performance on the foot-stomping opener is quite breathtaking, again exhibiting her talent for switching from tenderness to unsettling within a few lines of a song. It is a brilliant way to start the EP. ‘All to Break’ is a song that you’ll find it hard to resist. While much of the continued attraction of the song is down to the duo’s use of the unusual instruments that make their sound so uniquely their own, the initial fascination is with Kerraleigh’s vocals. A Dorset born girl just shouldn’t have a voice like that. In many ways it’s like Kerraleigh wasn’t just born in the wrong country, but also in the wrong decade. Kerraleigh is surely one of our most underrated singers. If you do manage to get past the opening song, then the following track, ‘Blood Harmony’, will leave you breathless. Again once you’ve listened to the song a number of times and the disturbing beauty of Kerraleigh’s vocals are less of a pleasant surprise, the haunting music will have you returning to the track time and time again, but initially it’s those outstanding vocals that will win you over. Hitting repeat is automatic for the first few times you listen to this song. There is this magical quality to the vocals, that something unexplainable that draws you in. It’s one of those songs that just stops you in your tracks the first time you hear it. Call it alt-country, Americana or even folk but really it’s just a perfect piece of music, flawlessly played and produced that can’t fail to impress all who hear it.is Martin takes lead vocals for ‘A Song for Any State’, and it fair to repeat what was written about the song he took lead on last time. While Martin is a more than capable singer, it’s Kerraleigh’s backing vocals that steal the song again. Martin does show a more subdued side to his vocals than he did on the previous EP and, despite Kerraleigh’s exceptional vocals, it would be interesting to hear a whole EP with Martin taking the leads as long as he teams up again with Kerraleigh shortly after. The rousing duet that closes this latest EP, which is also the title song, is proof that while Kerraleigh is obviously an exceptional talent vocally, and Martin is a good few notches above a merely average vocalist that when the duo sing together magic happens. It’s another foot-stomping country chiller that, in lesser hands, wouldn’t demand your attention, but with those vocals it’s simply irresistible and ends the EP on a high and positive note. ‘Handsome Skin’ and ‘High Town Crow’ have changed my view of EPs. I’ve always felt that most artists are too restricted by the format, that their music isn’t given the space to develop over just a handful of songs. But the August List has produced two EPs that, while sharing a sound and vision, deserve to be heard as two separate projects. While an album containing all eight songs would certainly work it wouldn’t have the same impact as hearing the EPs with a distance between them had. While still retaining their sound, the duo have moved on slightly from that first collection, not enough to alienate those who loved ‘Handsome Skin’ but certainly sufficiently enough to attract a whole new audience to their music. The August List are turning into major players in the alt. country genre.