Ample Branches - True Vine Album Review

Ample Branches
True Vine
Album Review

In the genre of music which could have been made any time between Woodstock and now, bands like Califone, Akron/ Family, Dr Dog and Gomez have added multiple instruments into a folky mix - usually some horns, some guitars and a nice, loose harmonic mix.

Ample Branches aren't 'New Weird Americana', but they are a wonderful amalgam of soul and folk, with a few throws of Beatlesque pop and America soft rock among the harmoniums and hand drums.

Largely acoustic, but with a few TV On The Radio-like T-Rex moments, True Vines is all over the place - charmingly keen on not setting a single rhythm or theme throughout. The album sounds as if it was recorded in a session at a radio station, so spontaneous does it sound - the solos sound unplanned and organic. It does occasionally stray into territory that has you reaching for the skip button, but True Vine has all the spirit of the 60s in its grooves. Throwing away the rough and dirty skin may have lost some of the goodness.

4/5

Mike Rea