Review by: Oli Saunders
The start of this album reminds me tenuously of Sam Amidon’s debut album ‘All Is Well’, perhaps with a hint of Fleet Foxes and Bright Eyes in the vocals and song structures. A sorrowful male voice overlies a simply picked guitar with occasional other accompanied instruments. On occasion he just sings by himself or with a female backup – I really like these bits.
‘The Ground, It’s Glass’ is a highlight, with a plucked banjo or instrument that sounds similar joining in for a bit. Things pick up near the end of the album as more instruments come into the mix. Overall Small Houses are nothing special but they play some nice folk music – the kind of thing that I wish I went to see in Bristol more often. If only I had other people to go with I swear I would, rather than sitting in my room watching The Shawshank Redemption for the hundredth time.