Tuesday 9 March 2010

The High Wire - Odds And Evens (Single - 2010)

A quick single review for Altsounds...

Tim Crompton, Stuart Peck and Alexia Hagen are London trio The High Wire, whose sound is best described as dream-pop, a bit Maps, a bit Slowdive, but a lot of guitars and harmonies. And this is the band’s strength which is proved to great effect on the single Odds And Evens, taken from the album The Sleep Tape.

The song’s opening distorted buzz, drums and Crompton’s vocals instantly draw you in. As the swinging guitars and hypnotic vocal arrangement reveal the sweet tones of Hagen, a great chorus emerges. This is one of the finest songs on The Sleep Tape, and while the album lacks consistency and good song writing, this is a definitive finest hour (or few minutes at least). A great trick unfolds when the song slows to a crawl before slowly building to an anthemic finish with Hagen on top form yet again into the last minute.

This is a strong single from an otherwise weak collection of ideas and themes that litter The Sleep Tape. Those fans of this kind of delivery may well lap up the album’s lazy charms but the strength of Odds And Evens will leave most people wanting more of the same. For now we will have to wait.
-- CS (for Altsounds)

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