Ray - Cut Out

  by Kelly Smith

published: 9 / 11 / 2008

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Review

Ray is a band, not a person. And nobody in the band is called Ray. Strange, you might think, but nobody in Thin Lizzy was called Thin Lizzy, so it’s probably irrelevant to band success. Moniker aside, I quite like this single. It’s nothing particularly grandiose, but it has an understated charm which is more than endearing. Guitars provided by siblings Nev and Mark Bradford (they’re called Bradford, but they’re not from Bradford... Why is this band out to get me?) are happy to take a backseat to the lead vocal, which is nice – there’s no power struggle, no vying for your attention. They’re letting you listen to the music without trying to overload your ears with a million different instruments and electronic noises. It’s kind of an 80's/90's mish-mash all in all. The music is indie in the old fashioned sense, the music you used to listen to in the early 90s, but at the same time there’s an alternative 80's edge to it, which I can’t put my finger on but each time I listen to it, I’m simultaneously reminded of some influential singer-songwriters from the early 1980's, as well as last decade’s indie pop brigade. It has something of the Divine Comedy about it, but not as ironic. Which is by no means a criticism, because there’s a reason why ‘ironic’ isn’t a genre you can look up bands under in HMV. This song hasn’t changed my life, and it hasn’t made me a Ray fan for life, but I liked it more with each listen, and it definitely opened me up to listening to more by them. So much so that I went on their MySpace, and I’m mulling over a friend request as we speak. Nev’s voice is unique in today’s music scene. I’m not sure why, but I think it boils down to the fact that he’s not trying too hard. If there was a genre in HMV just for Ray’s music, I’d call it “songs to drive along a motorway at night to”, or possibly “songs you’d love in the dark corner of a pub”. Mostly, I’d call it “songs Kelly thinks you should listen to so you understand her convoluted meanings” and probably leave it at that.

Track Listing:-

1 Cut Out (Single Version)