The thing I love about this Durhamite 5-piece, one of the many things, is their ability to write songs that already feel like classics. And by that, I mean that you instantly feel as if you have heard them before – not in a same old, same old sort of way, but by giving you the feeling that they could be on an album that you used to play to death, and you have suddenly been reacquainted with them. Hearing The Casbahs‘ latest batch of songs feels like meeting old friends.
You just have to drop the needle on the opener, ‘Crossfire’, to see what I mean…what a riff, what a delivery….what a tune. And rather than this being a case of front-loading the album with the most obvious tracks, the potential singles, and the most accessible songs, they keep coming, so much so that Peasants of the Show feels less like their “difficult” second album and more like an effortless greatest hits!
Yes, they can do the big hitters, but tracks like ‘Different Way Home’ prove that they are no slouches when it comes to the folk-finessed, balladic song, and here they break out the mandolin to fantastic effect. ‘Northern Skies’ is whistful and wonderful, upbeat, anthemic, and yet heart-achingly reflective, a brilliant merging of grace and groove. ‘Leaves’ runs on slow-burning, ever-building brilliance, and ‘The Game’ signs the album off with a pass through the realms of cinematic, roots music.
And I have to mention the lyrics too…any band that can wax lyrical about being caught in the rut of modern life with ‘ I Wanna Be Rich’ and the next moment break out the poetic nostalgia of ‘Northern Skies’ is a band whose songs you need to really dig into.
Intelligent indie is back on the menu!
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