Rolling in from the vast heats of summer to the autumnal chills and leaf strewn ground, we have a need for a little bit of roots, a bit of something to sink our shivering teeth into.
Lainie and the Crows can provide such a bite, with an indie folk concoction that just sates that hunger.
An indie five-piece from Edinburgh, Lainie and The Crows have brought their a-game with their first EP release, Chemical Rest.
The record takes a slow, tentative step into 1920 porch Americana with its opening track ‘Sun Rising’, a layered vocal, acoustic guitar track with a short high point before falling into silence, opening the way for ‘Mr Right Now’.
Lainie and the Crows go for a different approach here and pull you from the porch onto the beach with a surf-rock inspired song, a smooth guitar riff and simple drums lay down the foundation for a well produced easy listening track, with moody all female harmonies and a jangly guitar reminiscent of Hank Marvin’s Shadows days.
The EP comes to a close with the little gift of a track, ‘Dream Away’, with a soft mellow first half the track slowly layers psychedelic rock onto the folk foundation to create a brilliantly enjoyable harmony between the vocals and the guitar, until finally it ebbs away into mellow folk once again.
Lainie and The Crows have produced an enjoyable first EP, Chemical Rest covers a wide range of styles while still bringing the folk forward, the only downside is that there isn’t more to sink your teeth into.
Words: Malik Fernandez
