Album Review: Billy Vincent – She
3 min read
Two EP’s into what is already panning out to be quite a fruitful career in such early days, London based folk five piece Billy Vincent present to us their first full length record simply titled, She.
The band promote themselves as a acoustic/folk rock/indie outfit but after first listen to the bands debut it is evident that they have put together a collection that is so much more.
Opening with a well constructed string section the band pull together some strong Americana roots on Dead Man’s Shoes that will easily pave the way for success over the pond with subtle precision. The opener is the perfect introduction to anyone unfamiliar with Billy Vincent and with an infectious melody that sits over top the bands obvious songwriting talents it strings together a welcome addition to the folk scene with an early highlight on the bands debut effort.
Slide guitars take the reigns on the following And It Fights as they usher in some powerful vocals that ring out with sentiment and conviction as the track unfolds to present itself as a diverse and almost musically experimental addition with impressive results and one that is testament to the hard yards that have been put into its development as it swings from gentle folk gem to up-tempo rockabilly ditty without missing a beat.
Desperate and heartfelt balladry sets the mood for Whittled Away as the band show that they are no one trick ponies and offer the record its standout ballad. Optimistic yet slightly scorned lyrics take centre stage on the number while further down the track-listing we are delivered with a musically minimalistic performance of the almost vintage coated Feathers as the rough edged vocals are traded in with a more crooner-esque style that are complimented with a passionate string section. The track sits back to back with the beautiful piano led and poetic Four, Five, Six which sounds rather reminiscent of Le Moribond by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel (or Seasons In The Sun as most of us know it).
Another highlight on She comes in the laid back form of Lisson Grove where vocals are put in the spotlight and soar over a gorgeous balladic melody for the best part of its three minute duration before lifting off to evolve into a folk heavy, mid-tempo swinger.
She is a fantastic record for Billy Vincent and the work and detail that has gone into its creation will no doubt pay off for the quintet who have clearly mastered what it takes to develop a creative, diverse and brave collection of original pennings here.
::: RenownedForSound.com’s Editor and Founder –
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