Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
When something special comes along, it isn’t always plainly obvious, after all not all in life is heralded by the sound of trumpets capable of bringing down walls, not all is signalled in the heavens as a momentous occasion, it is up to the witness to find the meaning and to spread the word of what has occurred, the heavenly sound or the creative set of Paths opened up before them. The witness is the barer of tidings sent, the first to perhaps hear what the prophets cry, and one that is precious to the touch when performed in front of you.
We all take different Paths, each of our own senses rise in a distinctive manner that is uncommon to most, and yet occasionally, sparingly enough to make it feel somehow ordained by the musical powers that be, a vivid light shines brightly on a particular outpouring of emotion and it catches fire in the intense gaze and wonder afforded it.
It is a gaze that has been building with Cornwall’s Wille & The Bandits, the grove that has been intense and charmingly gorgeous, is now magnified as if comprehended by a cosmologist or an astrologer, finding the meaning in the stars, determining which Paths have led to this defining moment.
And it is defining, make no bones about that, there is never a true and sincere reason in which to glibly defend the indefensible, the Paths offered by way of the band’s new album is clear, intelligent, distinguished.
Across tracks such as the opening excursion and past the first sign posts that pointed the listener this way and that, One Way is the thunderous welcome in which the group’s identity shines through, not afraid to tackle the hard and often cruel subjects in which others balk and onward through the songs Victims of the Night, Four Million Days, the groove of Keep it on The Down Low, the sadness that is emotionally highlighted in the simple inspiration of How Long and the brilliance of the finale in Retribution, Wille & The Bandits mark out they are now able to beat the drum of their county and fly the flag of their natural and unbridled talent.
We all have Paths to take, some are littered with narrow walkways making it difficult to traverse, some, such as the one provided by Wille & The Bandits offer a luxury and comfort of musical pleasure for as long as you wish to see that life is not for following in anybody else’s trail, it is for standing beside them when the trumpet blown for the special moment sounds.
Wille & The Bandits release Paths via Fat Toad Records on 1st February.
Wille & The Bandits will be performing at the 02 Academy in Liverpool on March 14th.
Ian D. Hall