{"id":7353,"date":"2015-09-21T15:56:56","date_gmt":"2015-09-21T15:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-isaac-birchall-band-where-we-are\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T22:16:10","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T22:16:10","slug":"album-review-isaac-birchall-band-where-we-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-isaac-birchall-band-where-we-are\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review:\u00a0Isaac Birchall Band –\u00a0Where We Are"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"Having just spent the last three weeks blitzing Sons of Anarchy, my initial thought about \u2018Where We Are\u2019<\/i>, the debut by North Wales\u2019 heavy folk mob [the] Isaac Birchall Band<\/b>, was just how well songs such as \u2018Believer\u2019<\/i> and \u2018Bones\u2019<\/i> would sit on the soundtrack. <\/p>\n

Dirty and rootsy, with Isaac Birchall<\/b>\u2019s roughhewn vocals adding a raspy edge, it starts as an interesting mix of folk and unpretentious blue-collar rock. In fact, as \u2018Believer\u2019<\/i> and \u2018Bones\u2019<\/i> rattle along, it\u2019s not hard to picture them accompanying a motorcycle chase scene or the montage that seems to accompany every episode before the credits roll. That neither is a really great song \u2013 Birchall<\/b>\u2019s overbearing vocals are just a bit too much to make them enjoyable \u2013 which means \u2018Where We Are\u2019<\/i> gets off to a slightly downbeat, inauspicious start. <\/p>\n

Where We Are by Isaac Birchall<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet, then, almost from nowhere, \u2018Where We Are\u2019<\/i> takes a swift about-turn, pushing the folk to the fore and settling down to be an engaging listen. \u2018Don\u2019t Send Me Away\u2019<\/i> is a jaunty, mid-paced number in which Birchall<\/b> plays it straight with the vocals and is much more enjoyable than the opening salvo. <\/p>\n

Similarly, \u2018Omen\u2019<\/i> is a folk ballad, which, for some reason, makes me think of Bon Jovi\u2019s \u2018Dead or Alive\u2019<\/i>. I guess whether that\u2019s a good thing or not is down to you to decide, but it is clear Birchall\u2019s<\/b> band has some serious musical chops and this song has them all on display, including a wandering guitar solo.<\/p>\n

Best of all are the driving up-tempo folk pop of \u2018Say It Tonight\u2019<\/i> and \u2018What If I\u2019m You\u2019<\/i>. The former is built around a stellar riff, recalling Jim Lockey & The Solemn Sun\u2019s \u2018Death\u2019<\/i>, the latter a modern take on folk-punk that fans of everyone from Frank Turner to Make War should enjoy. <\/p>\n

It means \u2018Where We Are\u2019<\/i>, despite being multi-faceted and fractured, is an ultimately enjoyable experience. There’s plenty of rough edges which need to be refined, but Birchall<\/b> can write a mean song and has a masterful turn of phrase. If they can just pin down their musical identity then they could be on to something.<\/p>\n

3.5\/5<\/p>\n

‘Where We Are’<\/i> by Isaac Birchall Band<\/b> is out now.<\/p>\n

Isaac Birchall Band<\/b> links: Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Rob Mair (@BobNightMair<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Having just spent the last three weeks blitzing Sons of Anarchy, my initial thought about \u2018Where We Are\u2019, the debut by North Wales\u2019 heavy folk mob [the] Isaac Birchall Band, was just how well songs such as \u2018Believer\u2019 and \u2018Bones\u2019 would sit on the soundtrack. Dirty and rootsy, with Isaac Birchall\u2019s roughhewn vocals adding a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":14864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[4574,15022,4573],"class_list":["post-7353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-isaac-birchall-band","tag-rob-mair","tag-where-we-are"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlbum Review:\u00a0Isaac Birchall Band -\u00a0Where We Are - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Having just spent the last three weeks blitzing Sons of Anarchy, my initial thought about \u2018Where We Are\u2019, the debut by North Wales\u2019 heavy folk mob Isaac\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Album Review:\u00a0Isaac Birchall Band -\u00a0Where We Are - 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