Touring Barcelona is a five-piece alternative/funk act from Ayr whose debut EP attempts to infuse some Balearic sunshine into darkened Glasgow skies, drawing on influences ranging from rock to jazz and funk.
Opener ‘Amber Heard’ takes its name from Johnny Depp’s present squeeze but far from nodding to her famous boyfriend with a sea shanty it’s a bouncy funk-freakout with a memorable looped guitar riff in the breakdown.
Curiously though, this opener aside, the quintet’s unique selling point, Arran Fitzpatrick’s trumpet, is rather underused.
In terms of comparisons the gently funky rhythms nod to Jamiroquai while vocalist Jack Dickson’s phrasing brings to mind Incubus on the standout summery melancholy of ‘How Many Days’.
On all four tracks his vocals are confident and warm, albeit not exceptionally striking but the strong production manages to make the most of them.
The riff-heavy ‘Cheeky Charlies’ sounds like retro-rock revivalists Jet, it’s no ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl?’ but the wah-wah heavy solo sounds great.
Closer ‘Unlike Me’ is probably the weakest track here but it does give another opportunity for Fitzpatrick to stamp his mark on the release with some soulful trumpet playing.
Their cover art looks like some horrible reject from an eighties glam-metal album and sometimes the mish-mash of styles is a little unbalanced but Dirt in Disguise is still a self-assured debut.
Words: Max Sefton
