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Join Up in Praise of the Oysters Deserter Albumn

M Greenwood | Wigan England | 08/23/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Oyster band are almost a phenomenon in the English Folk Rock scene. I have not heard a bad albumn by them. A poor track possibly but a bad albumn never. The music is unmistakeably folk. Played with energy and enthusiasm. Take a basic rock band backbone blend with fiddles and concertinas, put down lyrics that tell a story and leave to mature. The resulting mix is sometimes rich and complex, other times sparce, generally always melodic. The high energy character of their live performance often translates well to the studio. Deserters starts with a high energy track that like most Oyster band songs also has that essential catchiness. The title song of the albumn Deserters is next a slower more sombre song as befits the title and subject matter. Angels of the river does not stig long in the head unlike the achingly good "We could leave Right Now". Next up they have a witty dig at the ex-first lady of the Phillipines and follow that with a modern tale of drinking in an industrial town (Granite Years). A more surreal piece next great to listen to but if you understand "Diamond for a Dime" do tell me. A couple more songs lead us to the end of the albumn which finishes with "Fiddle or a Gun" a great anti-war song (no war in particular) and an honest cover version of the "Bells of Rhymney" a discussion of the tales told by the church bells of Wales. . . . . Why do I like it? The tracks are great, you can sit down and listen to it or have it on as drive music. The tracks feel like they have been lived in, the band sound like they have been lived in. There is whit and social comment. A bit like life a suppose. 80)"