They're certainly a busy lot, these Dragonfly chaps.
Following on from Int Main Void earlier
this year, the 'Flies are back with a longer, better,
better sounding 6-track EP.
Ok, bad things first. That
Idlewild influence is still occasionally a little too obvious
- I know it's
been said before, but if I'm to paint an accurate picture
of this it has to be said again.
Right, on to the good things. The production is again distinctly
organic sounding - not for Dragonflies Draw Flame the
over-compressed, everything all sparkly and in your face
approach. Every instrument sounds pretty much live, and this
does absolute wonders for the band. It's perfect for
them, accentuating the naturally affecting and heartfelt
vocals and lyrics while giving the music a powerful, earthy
quality (throughout the EP the bass bounces along something
like a fluffy rubber cloud ball, which I think sounds really
good. Pity I couldn't come up with a better description).
The only thing that suffers is the drumkit occasionally sounding
a little bit submerged, but then this could just as easily
be due to the drummer playing exactly the right thing
all the time.
There's not really a duff song either, although "Sallow
Fields" is perhaps a little bit of a one idea track
(no pun intended, those of you with eagle eyes). There is
a particularly gorgeous mandolin section in "Tall Trees",
where everything else drops out to leave them plinking away
like leaves waving in the wind on a summer evening and gently
stroking your heartstrings, and "Last Minute Change
of Heart" is a quality quiet-yet-anthemic ballad featuring
some wonderfully sensitive guitar work.
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