This band from Inverness haven't been together too long but have now produced a second cd with a sound of their own that is already distinctive - a combination of Andrew Still's light, earnest singing and a band playing in an Americana style.
Twangy electric guitar and strummed acoustic is augmented by banjo and mandolin but also frequently by Hammond Organ swirls that I, for one, can rarely resist. The whole is driven along by an insistent drumming style that sometimes contrasts nicely with the gentle, homely nature of the lyric. "Write about what you know" is taken to heart by these guys, and the songs are, almost naively, directly about their lives and the lives of their friendsand contemporaries. One of several songs re-recorded from the first cd, "The Band That Had No Songs", relates the tale of their coming together and getting a support slot to Ox, the Vancouver band, before they'd got any material to play.
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What they already do well is to write songs with hooks that aren't obvious but that have a slow-burning persistence. It doesn't always come off but the best of these songs -"Sweetheart Smile" and "Two Mouths To Feed" for my money - have a bit of that magic that makes you start rooting for a band. I hesitate to compare them to Aberfeldy because they're not so wilfully offbeat, but they do have a similar sort of charm that leaves you with a happy smile on your face. Probably not at the top of their game yet, then, but it's going to be fun listening to them as they get there.
(For info go to www.thegalipaygos.com
.shared with netrhythms.com)
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