The Redlands Palomino Company – ‘Take Me Home’ (Laughing Outlaw) Released 12/02/07

Following up 2004’s debut album and bringing their own blend of Americana infused UK alt country rock to ‘Take Me Home’, The Redlands Palomino Company have once again triumphed with spectacular form, vision and most importantly fantastic songs. What initially begins as a convincing title track to the latest RomCom starring David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston soon develops into a piece of music filled with depth and sincerity reflective of the majority of the album.

Visions of strong nostalgic romanticism are inherent factors throughout ‘Take Me Home’ and the opening track ‘Wasted On You’ uses extended male / female harmonic dovetailing to increase the impact and prompts an accessible exchange of views. Both vocal styles are stunning and spell binding; Alex Elton-Wall’s oak smoked styling’s are superb and add grit and substance but Hannah Elton-Wall’s are nothing short of melt in the mouth sensational and provide The Redlands Palomino Company with their Anglo identity to an otherwise traditional American sound. This vocal interplay is used as a matter of stylistic course and is most apparent in an ode to the importance of love, ‘Empty Feeling’. Which despite its, at times clichéd and pedestrian lyrics “All the minutes feel like hours and all the hours feel like days” is still worthy of considerable merit.

Comparisons can easily be made between the bands overall sound with that of their peers (The Webb Sisters, Wilco et al) in songs such as ‘Take Me Home’ and ‘Burning It Down’ but it should be emphasised that The Redlands Palomino Company make their own decisions and music based on highly personalised moments throughout their lives and not off the back of others. Lyrical simplicity holds the key to the heartfelt crystalline vocal lock that demands to be opened in full with the beginning of each new track. Over complicated word play wouldn’t have the same effect when recounting growing up in an idyllic but at times painful childhood; “We had fights and fun then came home to mum, I just never came back” (‘Coastline’); or the beautiful immense sadness inherent in ‘Harbour Lights’ and its tale of unrequited, unattainable and lost love; “Underneath the silver stars, I’ll find you drinking dry the bar…It was written on your face, So spare my broken heart the lies”.