August 2002 • Rockbites Alternative Daily
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The Reindeer Section grow to 27 and find their voice 19 August 2002
Glasgow, Scotland super sideproject The Reindeer Section present a beautiful anomaly: 27 musicians whose egos step aside to benefit 12 songs; gentle pop balanced on a knife-edge between intimacy and lushness; and timeless musical subtlety that belies the fact that most of the songs on their new album were recorded in one or two takes. On a drunken whim late in 2000, Glasgow resident/Northern Ireland native Gary Lightbody (of lo-fi guitar band Snow Patrol) proposed to a dozen or so friends the notion of getting together to track an album of his songs. Everyone said yes. As the year turned they spent 10 days together that became their gorgeous debut LP, released last fall (see our review, link below) and titled Y’all Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! Lightbody, already a prolific songwriter, found the sessions inspirational. “After the first album was finished, I started writing more and more songs,” he says. “They weren’t Snow Patrol songs, although I’ve got an album’s worth of those too. I can’t quite explain the difference. You just know. And these songs cried out for the Section treatment. As soon as the first album was released, I wanted to record the second one.” This time he gathered 27 musicians (up from 15), dressed them in school uniforms, and allowed 14 days (up from 10) in the studio. The result, out for America last week on Play It Again Sam, is titled Son Of Evil Reindeer. The LP appeared in the UK on Bright Star Recordings a couple of months ago. “So much music isn’t music any more. It’s about who’s got the best stylist,” Lightbody says. “Everybody in The Reindeer Section is the exact opposite of that. It’s the one condition of membership.” The first LP’s success appears to have fostered in Lightbody & friends the confidence to pursue a more focused stylistic identity. On the new album there are fewer nods to musical fashion (as good as they were on the debut, and they were), replaced by depth and insight within the Reindeer’s own gentle, romantic context. With his army of like-minded but individually-creative musicians, Lightbody avoids the pitfall of writing the one-character novel that makes so much solo artist work a bit difficult to swallow. By diluting his own ego in the life-pool of friends and acquaintances he steps back and shines forth. The Reindeer Section feature members of Arab Strap, Astrid, Belle & Sebastian, Eva, Hercules, Mogwai, Mull Historical Society, and V-Twin. It now also includes, among others, singer/songwriter Iain Archer, Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub (singing background on two tracks), Lee Gorton from Alfie (singing lead on Last Song On Blue Tape), and Roddy Woomble from Idlewild (singing lead on Who Told You). The Reindeer Section remain an unlikely project—growing in membership while finding an increasingly focused voice, and remaining fresh, honest, and vital despite the glare of media recognition. Four bites out of five. Rockbites ratings 5: life changing, 4: stunning, 3: captivating, 2: amusing, 1: annoying. The Reindeer Section | You Are My Joy (full length MP3) | | PIAS America | | Bright Star Recordings | | review of debut LP on Rockbites | | top of page | |
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