Louis Eliot & The Embers

Blue blooded Plymouth boy Louis Eliot has certainly managed to unshackle himself from his former Brit-Pop incarnations in Kinky Machine and Rialto. 'Kittow's Moor' sees Eliot, and his newish band, The Embers, follow up Louis's own solo album of 2004, 'The Long Way Round'. Now a contented Cornish man Eliot has rooted for a more traditional, homely and warming brand of pop tinged folk as his musical medium, rather than the swagger and cockiness of his youth.

The West Country would appear to have suited Louis and the band. Mike Harding's a fan, Mojo gave the album 4 stars and descriptions have varied between "True pop genius' and "Sharp lyricism" right through to "Rustic charm and urban cool". Kittow's Moor should be an album I'd like. In years gone by it might even have been one I'd have taken a punt on, without hearing a note. Sadly, if I had, it would have turned out to be a mistake.

Kittow's Moor starts off promisingly enough and has all the right ingredients in the mix. The songs of Ferris Wheels, bully boys, bottle rockets, Dodgems and skimming stones are all set to accordions, flutes, mandolins and acoustic guitars. Rather like a less passionate Men They Couldn't Hang with a hint of Squeeze, sadly the humourless bits, Kittow's Moor continually disappoints and each song never quite realises its potential. Some come agonisingly close, but the majority are mediocre.

Continue reading: Louis Eliot & The Embers, Kittow's Moor Album Review