Barricades Rise - All I Have Is Here LP

Hear The Track Here

Seems to me that the UK has an abundance of very decent Alternative bands, at least judging by the flood of requests I am getting. My first two reviews this month are of two of those bands who are coming up for milestone status. First up is Barricades Rise who I first came across with their Blueprints EP (June 2008) but it was with the subsequent album - You and Your Adored (August 2009) - that really showed my what this duo were capable of. Considering that everything on these tracks was home recorded and produced, both projects deserved the high ratings I subsequently gave them. They followed that with another blindingly good EP - No Love Lost (May 2010) and here we are mid-2011 and they are right on schedule with their next album, All I Have Is Here...

Now read on...(as they say)

Whenever I hear people bemoaning the lack of good music I can only shake my head in wonder, and point them to musicians (and songwriters) like Barricades Rise and the new album shows a growing confidence and maturity. The first time it really became obvious was with track two, Always Yours, a really terrific song set in an acoustic setting that is strangely reminiscent of early Rod Stewart (solo mode). Mind you, the song is killer. The basic components of a Barricades Rise track are usually acoustically based, and - as I've mentioned before - there is always a tinge of traditional folk about it. Nonetheless, the songs are pure, out-and-out pleasure, as a quick blast of Making Faces From Clouds will readily confirm. There again, it has to be said, I do actually like this style of acoustic music, especially when you have some finely honed songs to deliver.

What makes it all work, at least for me, is that both Jonathan Coates and Michael McEntee are very good musicians and vocalists and the ease they have with each other shows in the music. Johnathon, mind you, has a natural rock voice that will drag even the most unwilling to encounter life as seen from the barricades.. A lot of the tracks have a gleeful joyousness about it, but that is often the way with more traditionally based music. They could be singing about mass murderers but the music would still slap a smile on your face. I defy you to listen to Folk Songs and Jazz Bands, and not be entranced at how something so intricate could slide down so easily, but I could say the same about almost the whole project. UK music is alive, well, kicking butt and taking names and Barricades Rise prove it perfectly.

Highly Recommended Acoustic treats!!