South - From Here On In (Mo Wax, 2001)

South
From Here On In
Mo Wax
2001

Rating: 7 blue bells out of 10
 
These three gentleman from England known as South have delivered us a beautifully layered album, where electronic beats, noises, and rhythms pair with the traditional instruments of most bands – drums, bass, guitar, vocals.  They got their start tinkering around with remixes and the like, and soon caught the ear of James Lavelle (also known for his work with DJ Shadow in U.N.K.L.E. and as the founder of Mo Wax).  The album is book-ended by a pair of similar songs - "Broken Head I" and "Broken Head III" (with "Broken Head II" lying somewhere in the middle of the album) that sound like a live band interpretation of something DJ Shadow would put together.  At other times the heavy bass lines and overall groovy nature of the tunes reminds me of Doves, another great English band to come out recently.  And there is even a third sound residing here, one of the shoegaze / britpop fashion reminiscent of The Stone Roses, Ride, or some such band like that.  My favorite song from the album "Here On In" probably fits into this third category, and features a duet with a female vocalist by the name of Lily Mahler whom I hope to here more from in the future.  If there is a downside to this album at all, it is the length – at almost 70 minutes long, it’s almost too much to take in at once.