Never Too Old To Be Young: A Quick Review Of The Debut Album From European Sun (Heavenly, The Catenary Wires)

The presence of members of Heavenly and The Catenary Wires is what's, admittedly, going to draw people to this debut album from European Sun. But the truth is, the music of Steve Miles is infectious and charming on its own. The group he's commanding now, European Sun, drops its debut album this Friday. And while the WIAIWYA release succeeds on its own terms, it's also the kind of thing that fans of recent work by Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey will enjoy a whole lot. How's that for a schizophrenic opening?

Early single "The Future's Female" revealed the spry sort of folk-tinged rock that Steve Miles is pursuing here. The leader of The Short Stories, Miles favors a kind of direct, faintly whimsical approach that sees his material poised somewhere between Billy Bragg at his most kitchen sink, and Robyn Hitchcock at his most earth-bound. Lots of European Sun is just as good as that first single, with "A Song for Sisters" soaring in its own quiet way, even as "Favourite Day" adds bits of feedback, and Amelia Fletcher backing vocals, to anchor a number that's in debt to both VU and Belle & Sebastian.

That one is a real highlight here, even as "Never Too Old to Be Young" suggests that Miles is capable of pursuing a kind of stately chamber rock with ease. Sounding a bit like "Sunday Morning", "You Belong Somewhere" is another gem here, even if "Small Steps" is, for me at least, far more affecting. Steve Miles can hit a nerve with a turn of phrase, or a melodic twist, and he really didn't need help from Fletcher and Pursey. That said, the contributions from those members of Heavenly and The Catenary Wires (among other projects) are used in a conservative fashion, such that their additions to this material are just light enough to not be obtrusive, and obvious enough on a few numbers as to link this material up with their own current endeavors.

European Sun is out on Friday via WIAIWYA.

More details on European Sun via the band's official Facebook page.

[Photo: European Sun Facebook page]