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'Black Cat River' is the debut release from Luke Rosier, a songwriter that has emerged from many years of crafting lyrical bedroom folk and playing in intimate London venues to produce an EP that is both young and limber, and worldly and fully formed. The songs tell of nights spent in abandoned cottages, scuttled boats and seafaring romances, killer birthday hangovers and patiently awaiting a revelation. The lyrics move from the confessional to the oblique, taking in galactic constellations, young love, too-short summer holidays and the ever-near presence of water; boats, ships and rivers loom large. Throughout it all, the warmth and intimacy of the music draws you into the EP which, at just under 20 minutes, we hope will be the first of many for this artist with a knack of knitting an infectious hook together with a wry and intriguing lyric.
The sound is simple but rich, guitars dip and swirl together around building melodies, off kilter rhythms and the occasional tinkling of piano, or low hum of an organ. Think Elliott Smith hanging out with Iron and Wine for the evening, in a country barn, en route to a family reunion. There is heartbreak but there is also hope. Textured vocals and guitar lines combined with percussive clicks and rattles give the album a homemade simplicity, but the arrangements are quietly adventurous, giving songs such as Old Bells and Hey Sunshine the feel of mini bedroom-epics. Brushed drums roll throughout Sometimes Still; Sleeping Lions is woozy and drowsy, finishing the EP in a somewhat dreamlike state.
These are songs to live and travel with, a dovetailing of old and new from a songwriter with one foot in the country and one in the city. Picture cycling down a hill to the coast in the rain; chasing mice from your kitchen on your way to work; waking up in the clothes from the night before, but not the house. Wherever Black Cat River is, we hope you find it.
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