http://www.clubhouserecords.co.uk
Country rock, 60s pop, seventies singer-songwriters and more come to mind on listening to the music The Dreaming Spires, hooked on the music the record eases through without any mishaps, and stands up to a great deal of music from the listed eras.
Brothers Robin (the writer in the band; vocals, guitar, piano, flute) and Joe Bennett (vocals, bass, lap steel, acoustic guitar, trumpet, keyboards) plus Jamie Dawson (drums, percussion) make up The Dreaming Spires; the Bennett boys formerly performed as Goldrush before moving on to be in Danny & The Champions Of The World and have toured and recorded with a bunch of people. Plus they have collaborated with everyone from Gary Louris of the Jayhawks to Garth Hudson (The Band), and it does stop there. Robin also co-writes with other acts and has his own side project Dusty Sound System while Joe plays with Co-Pilgrim.
With a host of influences in the mix, little riffs here, melodies there and jangling guitars the omnipresent The Dreaming Spires are forever busy. Big on creativity they pull from the past, toss it into the stew pot and remodel the best bits to suit their needs. Despite all their utilising of older sounds they keep the music fresh, apart from a couple of occasions when the music becomes a little laid back and too dreamy.
Among the biggest songs on the record you have Byrds-like on “Searching For The Supertruth”, easy flowing ode “Dusty In Memphis” and on bringing to the fore something they can proudly claim at their own sound you have “Strange Glue”, and there’s others too. As in “All Kinds Of People” (I so love the intro) and with organ in the mix “When The Magic Comes” is on of those songs with a little tinkering could become bigger! I see no reason The Dreaming Spires can't build on this record, their second, it follows another of note Brothers In Brooklyn.
Maurice Hope