• Band / Artist : Southern Backtones
• Genre : Rock / Pop
• Sample Track Download : N/A
• Buy CD : CD Baby
• Buy Digital Download : N/A
• Rating : 8 out of 10

“Forever” was the track that caught my ear and put me onto the band. There’s a very 80’s and 90’s independent feel to it, with a sound not too dissimilar to Echo and the Bunny Men or Psychedelic Furs. In fact some of the songs could almost have come straight from that classic vampire film, The Lost Boys. It was no surprise when I found, that is the track that opens the album, but it’s in no way a lost leader.

The album as a whole, has a very dirty sound. I’m not talking bad production, just a sort of dark, almost gothic vibe. It must be so hard for many bands to find their own voice. With so much competition it’s hard not to blend into the background and the Southern Backtones, manage to avoid this very well.

There’s 13 tracks on the album, including a remix that makes an appearance before the original version of the track, which is fairly unusual, as most remixes appear at the end of the album, if at all. One particular favorite track of mine is “Another Moment”, a real mellow track, with some great acoustic guitar, opening up at times, with some very Beatlesque accompaniment. I have to admit I’m not a big fan of the track “Little Ghost”, which is surprising, as it has a very Nick Cave feel to it. “Lanugo” is a pretty rambling 2 minute track, with some really interesting production, which had it been any longer would have been strangely hypnotic. The album rounds itself off very nicely with “Glamorous”, with that Beatles production surfacing again.

Conclusion : With flashes of the Beatles, Echo and the Bunny Men and INXS to name but a few, this is certainly an interesting flavor of album. I can imagine this being an excellent band to see live. Great stuff.