I first discovered The Redlands Palomino Company around half
a dozen years ago when they played the delightfully named Marr’s Bar in
Worcester. In the intervening years they have flickered on and off my horizon,
mainly catching their live shows such as an appearance at Americana International
and a gig at The Musician in Leicester. However in the summer of 2013 they came
right back to my notice big time with two storming sets at Palmfest and
Maverick. This personal momentum is now being carried forward by a new album
release which has the potential to cement their reputation as one of the UK’s
premier alt-country rock bands.
A striking feature of seeing Redlands live was how they
managed to come over as a good time jovial band and at the same time deliver
some cracking tunes with pure energy. Amongst many references to beer and
kebabs, songs likes ‘Doing It For The
Country’, ‘Wasted On You’ and ‘She is Yours' soon became embedded
live standards. The big change with this new release titled BROKEN CARELESSLY is
that they now have a quality recording to match the passion of their live show
and this may prove to be the catalyst to allow the band to develop in a more
consistent upwards projection. This is not to deliberately show contempt to
their three previous albums recorded sporadically over the last decade just
that this one seems to really hone in on their ideals and match their talents.
These ideals are to craft catchy songs, base them around
pedal steel, drums and guitar with an inadvertent sound that could be lifted
straight from the late 60’s/early 70’s pioneering west coast fusion of country
and rock. BROKEN CARELESSLY has endless such examples starting with the
excellent radio friendly ‘In These Lines’
and culminating in a near tearful finale ‘Band
Song’ where the guys reflect sentimentally on why they bother. The answer
to that question is that so many people care and the UK indie Americana scene
is much richer for the creative presence of Hannah and Alex Eton-Wall.
For this album recorded informally yet authentically in the
confines of an isolated chapel, Alex took over production duties to mix with
his guitar and vocal work while Hannah was the major song provider and possibly
the more effective vocalist on the record. The pedal steel work of Dave Rothon laces
the album with a sprinkling of atmospheric elegance and he also contributes one
of his own song compositions in ‘She Can
Live Without You’, a quintessential 60’s pop number showcasing Alex at his
vocal best. The making of this record was the final act of drummer Dan Tilbury
before his emigration to Denmark and Redlands regular bassist Rain resumed his
usual role in the band’s engine room.
The interchangeable lead vocals between Hannah and Alex keep
the record fresh and its 53 minute length never drags with a constant stream of
majestic ear pleasing tunes. The early part of the album peaks with the superb
title track ‘Broken Carelessly’ ,a
descriptive piece on the Palomino breed of horse. Hannah anchors the mid album
with her beautiful vocals lowering the mood on ‘Scattered Earth’. ‘Perfect
Forever’ and ‘Swim’ are both in a
similar style giving the album a sense of sophisticated maturity, not a term
you would normally associate with Redlands but hey, good things evolve. The
delightful guest fiddle of Simon Kelly graces the jolly ditty ‘Floorboard George’ delivered by Alex in
his usual style while ‘The Big Freeze’
is more traditional Redlands material especially when Hannah launches into its
infectious chorus.
The Redlands Palomino Company may have had this record in
the can for a while but there are going to be many grateful people now that
they have successfully released it with the help of their ever impressive label
Clubhouse Records. To support the record the band are hitting the road in May,
no doubt with renewed vigour and plenty of references to beer and kebabs.
Redlands Palomino Company fans wouldn’t want them any other way especially when
they match such frivolity with an exceptional record.
Broken Carefully gets formally released on April 14.