Wednesday 02/04/08 Ray @ The Social, London

There’s a certain genre of music that fits seamlessly with gloomy winter afternoons, Sunday hangovers and long-distance drives.  It’s an epic, classy category, epitomised by howling guitar strings, rousing choruses and precisely crafted songs that sweep and carry you along with them. Hear such stuff in the right situation, and those hairs on the back of your neck will repeatedly do what they do best.

Previous proponents of this atmospheric style of rock include Nicks Drake and Cave, The Velvet Underground, Chris Isaak and The Blue Nile.  Four-piece London band Ray sound a mite like all of these acts, as they play nine songs in The Social’s lower bar, but they also have their own sound, cultivated and refined through four albums (the latest just out) and 15 members.  Only now is the deserved recognition seemingly arriving. The shadowy, narrow venue suits Ray’s slightly weathered, elegant sound, corralling their symphonic noise and making the band appear very immediate and accessible.  This latter quality is aided by the quartet’s lack of showiness – demurely dressed and not prone to prancing around on stage, they are content to simply play, their songs doing the talking.

Opening song 'Five Times' Cursed sets out the goalposts: anchored by Chris Lowe’s perfectly rhythmic drumming and Martin Tisdall’s versatile bass, the big noise comes from the brothers (and band-founders) Bradford: Nev, while also guitar-ring, growls lyrics in low, gnarled notes as Mark’s pealing guitar produces electric notes sustained in the air for glorious seconds. Gigwise is drinking Diet Cokes but having a great time: the four early-30-somethings offer a mature sound that is best appreciated with all faculties intact. Second number 'Days to Come' is a hazier affair, sending The Social into a reverie broken only by new album title track 'Death in Fiction', a bruiser where Nev sounds a smidgeon like Frank Black.