Ragged Claws – The Sleepwalker
Just how I like an EP: very small scale, very home-made and very good. I call it an EP, but actually it’s one of these increasingly common and very welcome mini-albums – six songs long – so to call it an EP is to underestimate it slightly. It’s been sequenced like an album, as well, with a nice, rewarding emotional trajectory and the feeling that everything is in it’s right place.
If I were to try and call up a comparison, I would probably lean towards what Pale Young Gentlemen might soound like if they had gone in a slightly tweer, sadder direction than the more rich, orchestral one they chose. Basic layers of guitar and vocal duets are supplemented by gentle waves of cello and plucked strings, which bring a lush indulgence to a sound already beautifully steeped in sadness.
It’s not quite the finished article yet, or at least it doesn’t quite feel like it, but don’t ask me why. It’s just an impression I have for no good reason, but if they can build on this very promising start indeed then I think it’s entirely possibly that Ragged Claws could become a very good band.
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