Brassouls: Not Your Ordinary Municipal Brass Band
By Steve Cournane
Wow this one is quirky. In that odd NZ way it seems to be trying to be everything to everybody at the same time. Part James Brown, part jazz improv., part pop song, part Front Lawn humour, part ska and even conch ensembles! Yet there is something really nice about this album. You put it on; go about your business, and a feeling of joy just spreads out into the room. Lies, featuring Rick Bryant on vocal is superb. One suspects that the band enjoyed it so much that they just couldn't stop, which is a slight shame because at six minutes it may be just a little long for commercial airplay. There is something slightly majestic about this track, with the horn arrangement providing a poignant counterpoint to the angular Bryant lyrics. I hope Kingsley Melhuish can keep this project alive for a while and make album number two. I would dearly love to see where this can of musical worms ends up in a few years.
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