Opening an album with the title track isn’t something most bands like to do, but with the Big Adventure, it’s the perfect way to introduce Portsmouth’s The Dawn Chorus. With its Bright Eyes-esque folksy vibe and sunny disposition the track (or at least the first part of it) ease the listener into this young five piece’s sound, just to throw a curveball when track two, The Big Adventure Part Two kicks in sounding like the first track remixed by Marius De Vries (Rufus Wainwright producer known for his orchestral production) clearly this band have ambitions beyond folksy rock. The album trundles on, like the soundtrack to a lazy summer Sunday, the bands eternally bright outlook and upbeat melodies reminiscent of The Old 97s, certainly no bad thing. These lads are certainly more intelligent than the average band vying for that £10 note in your pocket that you’ve earmarked for a new CD! That they’ve titled a song Marie Antoinette is enough of an indicator, but continually articulate lyrics which capture life in Portsmouth, and especially on its music scene, perfectly, especially in Fractured City’s “I don’t mind playing empty clubs/or bleeding my heart out to football thugs/but I do have a problem when this city screams that you can’t get out/you can never escape meâ€. If this is the starting point, then it looks like this band really are on a big adventure!
FROM THE VAULTS: THE DAWN CHORUS – The Big Adventure
March 31st, 2009 | Published in Reviews | 1 Comment
Opening an album with the title track isn’t something most bands like to do, but with the Big Adventure, it’s the perfect way to introduce Portsmouth’s The Dawn Chorus. With its Bright Eyes-esque folksy vibe and sunny disposition the track (or at least the first part of it) ease the listener into this young five piece’s sound, just to throw a curveball when track two, The Big Adventure Part Two kicks in sounding like the first track remixed by Marius De Vries (Rufus Wainwright producer known for his orchestral production) clearly this band have ambitions beyond folksy rock. The album trundles on, like the soundtrack to a lazy summer Sunday, the bands eternally bright outlook and upbeat melodies reminiscent of The Old 97s, certainly no bad thing. These lads are certainly more intelligent than the average band vying for that £10 note in your pocket that you’ve earmarked for a new CD! That they’ve titled a song Marie Antoinette is enough of an indicator, but continually articulate lyrics which capture life in Portsmouth, and especially on its music scene, perfectly, especially in Fractured City’s “I don’t mind playing empty clubs/or bleeding my heart out to football thugs/but I do have a problem when this city screams that you can’t get out/you can never escape meâ€. If this is the starting point, then it looks like this band really are on a big adventure!
[...] our eye on for some time, ever since we got our grubby little paws on their debut album (reviewed here) we’ve been excited by their ability to weave the mundane and everyday into something rather [...]