ray - death in fiction
with a cover made to look like an old fashioned paperback, and a dodo record label logo that swings close to the classic penguin book logo then it would be easy to suggest that ray have made their second album with an eye on more pre-myspace innocent times long past, and in some ways their brand of indie rock is indeed a wonderfully refreshing take on late widescreen 80s productions devoid of any need to add 2008 time stamped casio keyboard stabs or hitting the well oiled excessive-treble button.
you may recall ireallylovemusic was somewhat taken with the bands quiet storm of a debut, daylight in the darkroom, where the mood was late night and rather melancholy. however, a b-side on a single that followed that release indicated that the band were tightening up as a live rocking unit. the track, this is a wave, piled on the layers of guitars and structured feedback brilliantly and became a firm favourite on the ireallylovemusic download stats. so it should come as no real surprise to find out that for this album ray have taken that particular idea of ramping up the noise, and run with it throughout the whole ten tracks.
basically, where the debut was a midsomer murders/sunday night of an album, the follow up is definitely a red wine plus saturday night type of album.
the production, again handled by john ‘ghost town’ rivers, is expansive with the reverb being used to the max making a lot sound like a remastered variant of the house of loves better moments while at times adding an updated darker edge, and could if given the chance give editors a run for their money.
i realise that’s a connection i made last time, but nev bradfords deep rich vocals continue to evoke the same reaction, but when the songs are as strong as opener, five times cursed, this is a wave (it is still a fantastic sounding song) then in my eyes this comparison is not a complaint, but a massive compliment.
add to the equation a genuinely superb 5 minute pink floyd styled epic (it’s all about the use of the hammond organ and guitar solo), roulette sun, sitting proud in the centre of the album, and you cannot fail to succumb to rays charms. other highlights include the sweeping psychedelia of hook heavy great strange dream, the lighters in the air moods of sound of the end, and the tense dramatic build up of album closer, cut out
if this band are playing at a festival near you over the coming months, then i strongly suggest you take a chance on ray, if you don’t then that would be a great shame.
more detail : here