Mellow–adjective
1. soft, sweet, and full-flavoured from ripeness, as fruit.
2. well-matured, as wines.
3. soft and rich, as sound, tones, colour, or light.
4. made gentle and compassionate by age or maturity; softened.
5. friable or loamy, as soil.
6. mildly and pleasantly intoxicated or high.
7. pleasantly agreeable; free from tension, discord, etc.: a mellow neighbourhood.
Mellow, well that’s the only word I can come up with to sum up Cardiff band ‘The Whistling Biscuits‘ new album ‘The City Spoke‘
At this stage I must declare that we at Welsh Icons have always been great fans of the Biscuits and when offered a preview copy of the new album (to be launched 17 July) we jumped at the chance.
The eight tracks on the album showcase the bands consummate musicianship – this is music for grow-ups trying to chill-out on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The mix of both saxophone and clarinet gives an unusually haunting quality to mix without introducing the self-indulgence that some trad-jazz bands have. In fact some tracks are reminisant of Supertramp without the electric piano.
The title track is a great number, but I’m sure they knew that when they chose it. The breaks, feature some nice finger-picking on an acoustic guitar overlaid with their signature woodwind sound. This is the sort of track, if featured in a car advertisement would go global.
Other highlights include ‘Doing My Job‘ which show the band at their very best, particular credit must go to the drummer who keeps it tighter than a local council budget and ‘Crooks‘ which just goes to prove that it is always wise to save the best ’til last. The restrained vocals on this track put you in mind of many other bands yet this track still has the unique biscuit’s sound.
All-in-all this is a must have album. It has been playing on repeat in the Welsh Icons office for the last few days. If I had one reservation, and there always has to be one, it would be nice to have had a couple of more up-tempo numbers to showcase the band’s true virtuosity – anyone who has seen them live will know what I’m talking about.
The album was recorded at Musicbox Studios by Charlie Francis (www.charlie-francis.co.uk/) and mastered by Donal Whelan at Hafod Studios (www.hafodmastering.co.uk)
The City Spoke will be launched on 17 July at the Globe, Cardiff.Tickets are £5 and the doors open at 7pm.
Support includes Colum Regan, Cheviot Hill and Rachel Taylor-Beales.
Watch this space for more details.
STOP PRESS: The first three tracks are now available to listen to on MySpace at www.myspace.com/whistlingbiscuits
