This album is like cheap wine and the love sick. Like waking up with a bad hangover but good memories. Like getting chilled nipples in the freezer section. Essentially it’s a little bit of the sublime in your CD player.
Small Sips hail from Melbourne and are a trio with members from bands Paradise Motel and Sodastream. For a debut LP they’ve produced a little slice of alt country. Less whiny than Ryan Adams and more country than Coldplay, it’s a refreshing slice of melodic soft rock that doesn’t break any musical boundaries but does well what we know and love.
Delicate minimalist arrangements allude to a vast potential from this band. Tracks like ‘Abney Park’ display a mature understanding of melody and form hooks that stay in your head. ‘Cowboys’ is not unlike Ryan Adam’s ‘Magnolia Mountain’.
A swath of guests fill out the solo sound to give the album the needed band feel. Upon the soft acoustic and electric guitars, drums are added courtesy of Mike Noga of The Drones and all create a raw emotion to the recording.
At only ten tracks the only criticism could be that the LP lacks some consistency. Key tracks like ‘Abney Park’, ‘All Your Rages’, and ‘You Were Right’, are obvious stand outs while others fall between the cracks.
In total Small Sips produced a complex emotive record that stirs quiet emotions. Move over Keith Urban, country has turned alternative in Australia and Small Sips are leading the way.
snozrap
said ages ago