George Thomas and the Owls - Laughing At The Raging Sea

  by Rachel Williams

published: 18 / 2 / 2010

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Review

The growling tone of George Thomas’s voice is reminiscent of the likes of Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Magnetic Fields’ Stephen Merritt. And just as they are able to conjure emotions from the undertones of their vocal cords, George’s voice encourages the same desire to listen harder. Once you do, you realise that there is a darkly coloured humour hidden amongst his rambling, shambolic melodies and that of his accompanying band, the Owls. ‘Laughing at the Red Sea ‘is an album that explores violence, death, heartache and the loss of innocence. The opening track ‘My Name is George’ portrays George as a violent individual who travels around looking for fights. The chorus rings out with “Don’t mess with me/My name is George’. ‘Asbestos’ that follows later in the album talks of deliberately snorting the substance in order to remove yourself from the pain of heartache, only to realise at the last minute that the girl is not right for you after all. George also jokes about the underlying degradation of society, stating that “Everyone has their own kind of pornography” in this world. The juxtaposition of the rasping tones of George with that of simple and delicate instrumentation of the Owls serves to create pretty yet melancholic folk music that could even be described as eerie in parts. This is a thought-provoking album, but one that nevertheless may take a few listens to get right and at times feels as if it is a bit much all at once.

Track Listing:-

1 My Name Is George
2 Ice Lollies In Summer
3 Pornography
4 Country Song
5 Wittgenstein
6 Sand Dunes
7 Float In A Boat
8 Asbestos
9 Brighton Pier
10 Peach In Midwinter
11 Post Sex Change Operation Blues
12 Coast

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