Appearing on the same label as I See Hawks In L.A., but sounding like they come from a different planet, the Loose Acoustics do pretty much what it says on the can.
The unusual, possibly bizarre, combination of Richie Lawrence's accordion and Ken Cooper's various stringed instruments (mostly mandolin and guitjo, which will be a six-stringed banjo I believe) are here to entertain in a light, offbeat manner. I guess they're an antidote to anything that's vaguely music industry; there's no posturing or self-importance here, just three talented musicians ( Steve O'Neill is on bass and occasional brass) seeking to have some fun and invite a load of musical mates along for the craic.
There's a couple of covers, PInball Wizard being one which puts the tin lid on this band's capacity for bizarreness. Other than that, the songs are written half and half by Lawrence and Cooper and in themselves are no more oddball than stuff The Barenaked Ladies would come up with. What makes Sorrow Be Gone wilfully eccentric is the odd extra instrumentation - an oompah-ing tuba here, a shuffling washboard there, a ghostly saw on the closing track, 'Flying' and jews harp (sic) courtesy of the Hawk's Paul Lacques on a couple of tracks. Disappointingly, nobody gets to play kazoo.
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Half a dozen tracks of this stuff can be quite fun, but I'm afraid the full fifteen tracks has me a little wearied of the self-conscious quirkiness. There's a nice guest vocal from Rita Hosking, whose voice swings nicely, and otherwise the best moments come from the accordion, I think, which surprises me given that I've never been that fond of the sound of an accordion. 'Leaving You', a slow instrumental in waltz time, is really very nice, quite mellow and atmospheric.
More tracks like that, focusing on the guys' musicianship, would have been appreciated by me. Otherwise the Loose Acoustics are the sort of band that it'll be worth checking out in the midst of a festival sometime, light relief from big band bombast on the main stage.
(John Davy www.nessmp3.com/music/biscuitsandgravy)
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