Into the Dark

In a fortnight's time you will be able to buy something beautiful. I am speaking of course, of Cherbourg's second back of the net EP, "Into the Dark".

The EP fleets between the ethereal prowess of "Man" and the sombre, thought-provoking "Shine", the tracks finding a common ground in their vocal harmonies and built up melodies. Rather deceptively, the beginning of opener "Man" lulls you into believeing that this track will be nothing of consequence, an unchallenging "hello" from the band. This is before Davie asks "...So I'm a man am I?". This questioning nature is something of desperation, demanding an answer from the listener, and in the final minutes of the track the music conspires in a sweltering peak of sounds, making you wish you could address such overt emotion with more than reverant silence.

"Goldmine" eases off the darkening tension in an anthemic culmination of the aforementioned harmonies and a charging momentum drives the song to a choral climax that weaves itself about the listener's ears, leaving them in a no doubt contented state.

The third track, "Let Yourself Love" reverts back to the depths of the soul, the lyrics this time stumbling upon home truths you yourself may not even have thought about. The lyrical stamina of the EP is quite astonishing and "Let Yourself Love" marks a high point amongst the four tracks with its beautiful chorus line "...Let Yourself Love/Let Yourself Be Loved/I'm Trying To Give My Life To You". It's hard not to get a little weak listening to this song. There's a relentless force behind this music that can only be the band's inner conciousness, an element that gives the music a real edge.

Unlike "The Last Chapter of Dreaming", the finale of "Into the Dark" is more intimate than intense. "Shine" strolls through witticisms such as "I'll swallow my pride if you swallow yours/Please don't lose your appetite", and lines such as "My love it'll just shine on...into the dark" give the track an oddly addictive atmosphere, added to by the whimsical fiddle and guitar melodies that linger in the distance.

"Into the Dark" is a beautiful collection of thought and feeling that is easy to relate to in this harsh and unwavering world. It's available on 10" vinyl here and can be downloaded from rawrip.com as of the 1st of June.

thirty four: Cherbourg

Cherbourg are the reborn ashes of Davie Fiddle and the Lucky Egg. Originally I was sorely dissapointed at this very sudden news that T'Egg were gone.

But then I heard Horses.

I never imagined it would sound so. good. (Not that I was expecting something dreadful!)

At first there's an expectation for a Davie-esque vocal from Andrew Davie...but no. This time it's a slap in face cry of a vocal that makes your head spin round. There's so much strength, with each line more and more elements come out of the woodwork, not to mention the matured lyrics with a kick of imagination.

This obviously heightened my expectations for last Wednesday when I saw the reborn quartet live for the first time. And they did not dissapoint.

Along with Horses there was a myriad of similar songs, all with a unique quality of their own. For one Kevin Jones donned a drum, alerting my neural percussion system (yes, such a thing exists). I love drums, and with this added percussion I was sunk even deeper into my infatuation.

They've still managed to retain a degree of what they once were, there's still heartfelt lyrics here and there, and the boys' lovely personalities still shine through. Speaking to Andrew after the show it's hard to believe it's him behind the vocals of Horses "You've lost your only friend/You're not gonna see him again", because he's just so damn nice.

Cherbourg are planning to release on EP in early '09.

Listen to Horses here.