The title of Cavil's album refers to a kind of high-flying cloud, light but heralding storms -- appropriately named enough for a collection of songs that hints at darker feelings while keeping a gentle exterior. Drawing on a variety of sonic sources -- soft solo folk performers, calmer '80s-and-after post-punk guitar textures -- at times there's a sudden bite to the arrangements that gets the attention. Often it's down to the percussion -- the way the brushed drums almost sit in the ear on "These Things" offsets the calmer ...
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The title of Cavil's album refers to a kind of high-flying cloud, light but heralding storms -- appropriately named enough for a collection of songs that hints at darker feelings while keeping a gentle exterior. Drawing on a variety of sonic sources -- soft solo folk performers, calmer '80s-and-after post-punk guitar textures -- at times there's a sudden bite to the arrangements that gets the attention. Often it's down to the percussion -- the way the brushed drums almost sit in the ear on "These Things" offsets the calmer sounds in the mix. Other times it can simply be the sense of what sits back further in volume -- what sounds almost like haunted bird calls on "Plastic Bag (That's My Flag)," on another song soft chimes and a nervous, looming arc of feedback. Meanwhile, the lyrical vision of "Pennine Town," a portrait of a tangle of emotions and memories while looking out over the titular site, isn't dark per se but emphasizes a sense of questioning and non-resolution, at once beautiful and unsettled. In general, Mares' Tails aims for the gently reflective, and if the album as a whole veers a bit toward the one-note (less due to the arrangements than the general feeling and pace), individually the numbers "Cold Heaven" and "When I Think of You" (not a Janet Jackson cover, but that would be a hell of an idea) are calmly performed and sung. When everything strips down to vocals and guitar on "Piranha Canal," one gets the sense of the core strength of Cavil, but it makes the additions and twists throughout Mares' Tails that much more of an engaging listen. ~ Ned Raggett, Rovi
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Mares' tails-known to cloud watchers as cirrus uncinus-are feathery strands of frozen cirrus cloud. Beautiful from afar, they signal the approach of a warm front, forecasting change and turmoil. Cavil's MARES' TAILS captures life lived under the presence of prevailing south westerlies in a Pennine town in a series of folk nocturnes, filled out with brushed drums, trembling bass, glockenspiel, and the occasional waves of echoing guitars. Delivered with a calm assurance, the major chords never far from minor, and the lyrics, while essentially contented, never far from a tinge of regret. These are lullabies of everyday betrayal and longing. Phantoms of freedom abound: the wind, a plastic bag waving from the branches of a tree, flocks of migratory geese, and the art of plane spotting. Recommended if your tastes run to Tindersticks, the Montgolfier Brothers, or the sound of a distant train whistle in the night. "Swims somewhere in the same sea with Ben Watt's 'North Marine Drive' or Beaumont's 'No Time Like the Past'. A melancholy, almost spiritual album. A very personal joy. Something you might be tempted to keep all to yourself "-Corey W. Schmidt, Central Services "'Northern Englishness'-that's the quality I've been turning over in my head over the last few weeks. It's something that Hood, John Shuttleworth, Jake Thackray and Pulp have-and this album has it in spades. The trouble is it's difficult to define, it's unmistakable yet unfathomable. Whatever it is, there's an old-fashioned honesty in these songs and their delivery: love, nature and truth conveyed by an acoustic guitar, a piano and a voice."-Richard O'Brien, Vespertine & Son
