I Am Kloot - Hold Back the Night

  by Dixie Ernill

published: 18 / 4 / 2015

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Review

For years I Am Kloot were one of Manchester’s best kept musical secrets, consistently churning out high quality albums of songs about the usual subjects of love, life and laughter. Each one underpinned by songwriter Johnny Bramwell’s incredible ear for a melody and razor sharp wit infused wordplay and textured by the best backing band since Les Alanos, in the shape of bassist Pete Jobson and drummer Andy Hargreaves. The band finally had a breakthrough of sorts with the Mercury nominated ‘Sky At Night’ (their fifth LP) in 2010 and followed it up with arguably their finest LP ‘Let It All In’ a couple of years ago. As well as having a stunning canon of work under their belts, I Am Kloot are also a formidable live proposition, which I have been fortunate to witness on many occasions over the years. Despite often playing as just a 3–piece, they have managed to turn already brilliant songs into dizzying moments that truly make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. On the occasions that they have augmented their live sound with additional musicians, the results have been equally magical. This release, recorded on their 2013 winter tour, manages to capture that majesty perfectly and is a wonderful document of a band at the very height (for now – who knows what riches the next LP will bestow!) of their powers. The 26 songs are lifted mainly from the band’s last two albums, but there is a healthy splash of tracks from throughout their 16 years career. 'Northern Skies' effortlessly rubs shoulders with ‘86 TVs’ and likewise early single 'The Morning Rain' and 'To the Brink', with the beautiful line "‘So you wear the disguise of your brilliant eyes, drenched in flamboyance", sit happily alongside each other. The fact that they could have chosen a different set of 26 tracks without any reduction in quality just proves what a special band I Am Kloot are. This could be the perfect introduction to the band for any latecomers or just a treasured keepsake for us enlightened who have already allowed our ravaged hearts and tear stained crumpled shirts to be soothed and coloured by Bramwell, Jobson and Hargreaves.

Track Listing:-

1 These Days Are Mine
2 Northern Skies
3 86 TVs
4 Bullets
5 One Man Brawl
6 Let Them All In
7 Shoeless
8 Hold Back the Night
9 I Still Do
10 Fingerprints
11 Morning Rain
12 To the Brink
13 Some Better Day
14 Lately
15 Dead Men's Cigarettes
16 Radiation
17 Proof
18 Because
19 Twist
20 From Your Favourite Sky
21 The Moon Is a Blind Eye
22 No Fear of Falling
23 Mouth on Me
24 Dark Star
25 Same Deep Water as Me
26 Life in a Day

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/iamkloot
https://twitter.com/iamkloot
http://www.iamkloot.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Kloo
https://soundcloud.com/i-am-kloot-1

Label Links:-

http://www.walktallrecordings.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/walktallrecor
https://twitter.com/walktallrecords