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Review: 'STEALING SHEEP'
'Not Real'   

-  Label: 'Heavenly Recordings'
-  Genre: 'Indie' -  Release Date: '13th April 2015'

Our Rating:
With a strong visual and sonic style, this wholesome-looking all girl trio make no attempt to hide their art school background.

They write upbeat melodies with quirky time signatures in the way Talking Heads used to, albeit with a very English character. For instance, the instrumental passages from Love have certain similarities to Life During Wartime .

'Not Real' is their second album, written, recorded and produced by band members Becky Hawley, Emily Lansley and Lucy Mercer at their studio in Liverpool. It follows their well regarded debut, 'Into the Diamond Sun', from 2012.

For this album there is less guitar and more processed sounds as they explore post-production techniques, three way vocal harmonies and layered textures.

Inspirations include 50's exotica, electronic music and 80's pop . "The result was a hybrid of casual takes and more considered recordings.” says Hawley.

'Not Real' could easily be subtitled 'More Songs About Fact And Fiction' with songs which touch upon the distinctions between reality and illusion.

"Don't let the daytime fool you that you're not real" is the instruction at the start of the title track while in Deadlock the advice is to "just look within" to take control of your life.

This is still accessible pop music despite not being founded on the obsessive analysis of relationships that are part and parcel of the genre.

Brightness abounds although the dub-pop rhythms of Greed strike a more sinister note : You're everything I want - but not what I need" - and the slower grooves of Evolve And Expand show that the band are no one trick pony.

The soulful She is the closing track is a further illustration that the band sound best when not being so eager to please.



Stealing Sheep's website
  author: Martin Raybould

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STEALING SHEEP - Not Real