The Belles
(who will be) Here to Hear e.p.

Sounding a little like Jakob Dylan and playing slack enough to fit onto a beck album, Christopher Tolle and Jake Cardwell are The Belles! Listen! As they play quiet ballads whilst you do the washing up! … Gasp! As they sing songs of self-doubt and insecurity! Scream! As they… well, you get the idea. The Belles are a combination of acoustic guitars, Hammond organs / pianos and quiet, steady percussions that wouldn’t go astray alongside albums by the Webb brothers, Ben and Jason or, yeah, either of the two acoustic Beck albums (to name but a few). There are four nice songs on here, nothing to really write home about other than perhaps the title track, but nevertheless The Belles are one of those softie bands whose debut could be one to relish – their sound is definitely something to come back for more of, even if the songs could do with a little more pep.

Mark Danson