In loving memory of our co-founder, Darren Beech (4/08/1967 to 25/03/2021)

SONS OF SEVILLA – Street Light Moon (Ubiquity)

Street Light MoonI have a thing about bands I’ve never heard of and know little, if anything, about. It’s one of the joys of reviewing and I’ve found some really interesting artists along the way. To that list I’ll now add Sons Of Sevilla with their new album Street Light Moon, which has been on repeat in the car from the first listen. What I can tell you about them is that they are brothers Henry and Ruben Smith, from Yorkshire but now resident in southern Spain, this is their second album and they don’t appear to have a website.

So, straight on to the music. What I do know is that Ruben was working on a solo album when Henry visited to help, and they discovered they have a sound as a duo so went in a different direction. With a wide range of influences, having been raised in a pub, they cross both genres and decades. Describing themselves as retro-futurist they explore these aspects across the album.

Title track ‘Street Light Moon’ has strong Pink Floyd vibes to it with that psychedelic rock dream feel to it. But, it certainly isn’t just an “in the style of” and the slide guitar, using a bottle as a slide, gives its own sound, along with some impressive synth. There’s even a retro feel to the album cover. It’s a long time since I’ve seen a label telling me it’s a stereo recording! ‘Birds Fly High’ has that similar 70s sound and the title pretty much tells you what the song is about. Hang loose, chill out and watch the birds fly – along with a really fuzzy electric guitar.

In comparison, ‘My Little Fighter’ has a very feel with an almost tropical beat and a far more pop sound whereas ‘Do Me A Favour’ has a more Californian feeling to it and is driven by a heavy bass.

What links all the songs together, and provides an overall feel, is the vocals which sit alongside or slightly behind, the instruments. These aren’t necessarily story songs but tend to deal with emotions, feelings and a place in the world. There’s a lush feel to this album, all tracks written by themselves and with some impressive accompanying musicians. It’s a summer album, beautiful to listen to in the car with a window down and imagining the open road ahead. I thoroughly enjoyed Street Light Moon and would highly recommend it.

The album releases 5th September and isn’t yet on Bandcamp [actually, it is now – Ed], although I expect it to be. It can be pre-ordered from Juno.co.uk as an LP.

Tony Birch

 Artists’ website: https://ubiquityrecords.com/collections/sons-of-sevilla

‘Street Light Moon’:

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