Rockbites: Reindeer Section LP gets Halloween release for US

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Reindeer Section LP gets Halloween release for US
22 October 2001

Gary Lightbody of Northern Ireland’s Snow Patrol masterminded a jam session last winter that included members of eight Glasgow area bands, among them Arab Strap, Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, and V-Twin. The event led to a 10 day recording session in late January and a remarkable album under the banner Reindeer Section. It led as well to a continuing collaboration that has performed live multiple times.
    Out since August in the UK and France, and since late September in Germany, the US street date for the Reindeer Section LP has just been pushed about a month and is now 30 October. It’s a date that happens to give a bit of distance (perhaps appropriate for some given the album’s title Y’all Get Scared Now, Ya Hear!) from the September tragedies, and conveniently places it up against the traditionally scary Halloween.
    The title, of course, is a take-off from Jed’s closing remark on the theme song for ’60s US television comedy The Beverly Hillbillies. And as you might guess, there’s nothing scary about the album—well, apart from the childishly drawn reindeer gracing the album sleeve, with their absurdly vicious teeth; and apart from the fact that many of these songs are frighteningly beautiful.
    Reindeer Section include members of Arab Strap, Astrid, Belle & Sebastian, Eva, Hercules, Mogwai, Mull Historical Society, and V-Twin, along with Lightbody and Jonny Quinn from Snow Patrol. For most of the trip the mood is slow and dark, lush but minimalistic—along the Czars-Low-Sappington-Zephyrs-Galaxie 500 axis.
    But there’s a very pleasant and surprising musical diversity on the LP, including a couple of songs with off-kilter time signatures (The Opening Taste, Deviance), some absurd humor mixed with hope-in-the-face-of-death (The Day We All Died), a goose-bump gorgeous cinematic celtic-rock anthem (Sting), and some trance-dance (Tout Le Monde). While Lightbody sings most of the songs, Eva’s Jenny Reave handles vocals for Fire Bell, while Arab Strap’s Aidin Moffat sings Nytol.
    But this album stands out because of a strong musical identity that has everything to do with Lightbody’s warm sweater of a voice set against a stark and chilly instrumental landscape. The combination is unique and irresistable.
    Your first listen may not reveal the beauty latent in these tracks. Headphones and closed eyes are highly recommended. As the world gets cold, here’s some warmth from some folks who know all about it. Four bites out of five.

Rockbites ratings  5: life changing, 4: stunning, 3: captivating, 2: amusing, 1: annoying.

| The Reindeer Section | | Bright Star Recordings | | CD from Amazon UK | | CD | | top of page |

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