Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
A room full of Mirrors can be the most illuminating tool, it can capture light and throw it around like truths in a wilderness of tangled lies, it can show the flaws and imperfections, it can enhance the reflection and make it whole; depending on which way you look at anything in one, you can see yourself clearly and all that you are.
Mirrors and art, two sides of the same but hefty coin, both require the foresight to believe in what is being created is not an illusion, not a representation of fantasy, it is the deep down fear that we have got it right all along, that what we portray for others, is actually us, that what see in the mirror is the person and the skin we inhabit is actually the fantasy.
Cattle & Cane’s album Mirrors is a luxuriant affair, a seamless weave, the polished symbol of the intimate and the illustrated desire, all brought to life in reflection and addition to the cause. It is the cause that has seen Cattle & Cane become not just hot property, but the sizzling delight of the little black dress and the fully kitted out tartan ensemble being seen arm in arm on a couple in love. Mirrors don’t distort the truth, they don’t enhance it, they just simply show allegiance to what is there; the representation of truth is accuracy and one that Cattle & Cane fully utilise and offer as an honest mark of musical enlightenment.
In tracks such as 7 Hours, Fool For You, Make Your Vision and I’ve Been Silent, Joe and Helen Hammill show with natural grace the absolute point of harmony and the rare ability to make sure it is heard beyond the whisper that wind carries in the darkness. Such is the projection of natural light, of the endeavour of purpose that the songs sing with classic poise and never let go of the thought that it is the reflection of the band’s imagination that makes the songs absolutely real.
Mirrors is the founding stone in which this sophomore album rests and climbs onwards, it is the preciseness of the songs and their sharp unflinching tones that make it a joy and one that cannot be dimmed.
Ian D. Hall