Reichenbach Falls are
unfortunate to have been tagged by some journalists as ‘experimental’
exponents of Americana, folk, or country, when, in reality, they
don’t stray too far from a blueprint laid out by any number of NME
darlings waving that Americana flag. What Reichenbach Falls do well,
however, is to craft songs building on a sense of emotional urgency
with jangly guitars, delicate vocals and an underlying warmth that
will appeal to a lot of people. Singer Abe Davies comes in somewhere
between Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and, appropriately enough,
Elliott Smith who the band cover on the B-side. Going straight for
the jugular, the band re-interprets ‘Needle in the Hay’ in their
own image, softening some of the edges which made the original so
devastating. They’ve laid a solid foundation, and if they can start
to live up to their ‘experimental’ reputation then they’ll
really be on to something. (TM)
[Originally published in Oxfordshire Music Magazine, issue 26]
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