The Mavis Seed
A while back we featured the Matt Burnside Project, and some of the tracks they’d come up with. Recently though, Matt and Tash have joined The Mavis Seed, a four piece acoustic, pop, soul band from West Yorkshire. They guys were good enough to whack me over a copy of their debut EP, Caravan, to check out what was on offer with the new project – so I thought I’d better take a listen!
As Blue House gets things in motion we’re immediately thrown into a calm and reflective place, a place where the guitar work takes the lead and takes you by the hand into a soothing melee of soft acoustic guitars, soothing vocals and catchy, emotional laden rhythms. Keeping the mix deep and melodic throughout, there’s a real sense of soul led rock going on here, keeping things cool but adding elements such as a guitar solo and occasional drum lines to bolster the mix, resulting in something which is beyond a simple tag and instead forms into something more complex and developed. Caravan continues this approach, this time adopting a more upbeat tempo and forming into something which is surely going to get people dancing and moving from the word go. Once again basing the track around the vocals and guitars, this time an upbeat and funky bass line is added to the mix, resulting in a sound which is perfect for a sunny day, ideal for time with friends or simply a moment relaxing with a beer. The stand out point for me here has to be the layered vocal lines, they add that folk edge once again and demonstrate that this is a band with a solid understanding of music and how to craft catch tracks.
Travelling Man slows things down for a moment and allows us a moment to chill out and reflect on what we’ve heard, pulling back on the reins and adopting a more emotional laden approach. Switching to male vocals this time, the track continues to hold the depth which has become the signature of the band so far on this record, but also manages to add a real sense of meaning to things. The contrasting vocal lines throughout lift the track further, developing this into a serious high point on the album, and a moment I would advise you to check out for sure. I’m Thru With You comes up next and seems to tone things down to a different level, this time adopting a more angry approach to the lyrical content. That’s not to say this is a more raucous or OTT track, but instead one which is clearly more based on emotions than some of the earlier tracks. Despite the harder approach, the feeling of blues orientated folk continues to abound throughout the track, turning the track into something which is calm, yet representative of emotion at the same time – a clever mix and one which I’ve seldom come across being pulled off this well.
Today I Found Out I’m Not Crazy lowers us back into the reflective calm of some of the earlier tracks, this time adopting a more ‘out there’ style to the initial guitar work, producing a sound which isn’t conventional or predictable. I love the song title of this track, and the lyrical content reflects the statement throughout, resulting in another high point on the album, and another track I would advise you to check out for yourself. Sole Intention presents us with the penultimate track on the album, opening with sounds of water and a growing synth vibe, the whole mix enveloping you in a sense of calm and reflection and one again ushering in that sense of laid back reflectiveness. Some might say there’s a real sense of psychedelic 60’s style music going on here, and it would be easy to see why – the combined vocals with the guitar work form into something which seems to come from above, the heavy drum backing hitting you like rain drops as the track plays out, it’s a track you feel the need to close your eyes to so that you can fully feel it.
Closing with a live recording of Bags Of Ice the band finish the record with a demonstration of what they sound like when it’s just them and no studio – and there’s no real difference to the sound! If ever there was a demonstration of what we could expect from a band if we were to go out and see them live, this is it, closing on a high and leaving on a note which leaves you wanting more and the chance to see them live.
I’m wary of folk music and always have been, there’s just something about that tag which makes me think ‘urgh’ and want to run away, but The Mavis Seed might just turn me around to the idea. This is an album which is chilled out, calm, reflective, upbeat and melodic from start to finish. There’s no over the top effects or studio input, meaning what you hear is what you get – which has to be a damned good thing! This is a band I’ll be looking out for on the live scene, and an album I think I’ll be playing at BBQ’s and summer parties from here onwards, definitely one to look into!
To find out more about The Mavis Seed, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
As Blue House gets things in motion we’re immediately thrown into a calm and reflective place, a place where the guitar work takes the lead and takes you by the hand into a soothing melee of soft acoustic guitars, soothing vocals and catchy, emotional laden rhythms. Keeping the mix deep and melodic throughout, there’s a real sense of soul led rock going on here, keeping things cool but adding elements such as a guitar solo and occasional drum lines to bolster the mix, resulting in something which is beyond a simple tag and instead forms into something more complex and developed. Caravan continues this approach, this time adopting a more upbeat tempo and forming into something which is surely going to get people dancing and moving from the word go. Once again basing the track around the vocals and guitars, this time an upbeat and funky bass line is added to the mix, resulting in a sound which is perfect for a sunny day, ideal for time with friends or simply a moment relaxing with a beer. The stand out point for me here has to be the layered vocal lines, they add that folk edge once again and demonstrate that this is a band with a solid understanding of music and how to craft catch tracks.
Travelling Man slows things down for a moment and allows us a moment to chill out and reflect on what we’ve heard, pulling back on the reins and adopting a more emotional laden approach. Switching to male vocals this time, the track continues to hold the depth which has become the signature of the band so far on this record, but also manages to add a real sense of meaning to things. The contrasting vocal lines throughout lift the track further, developing this into a serious high point on the album, and a moment I would advise you to check out for sure. I’m Thru With You comes up next and seems to tone things down to a different level, this time adopting a more angry approach to the lyrical content. That’s not to say this is a more raucous or OTT track, but instead one which is clearly more based on emotions than some of the earlier tracks. Despite the harder approach, the feeling of blues orientated folk continues to abound throughout the track, turning the track into something which is calm, yet representative of emotion at the same time – a clever mix and one which I’ve seldom come across being pulled off this well.
Today I Found Out I’m Not Crazy lowers us back into the reflective calm of some of the earlier tracks, this time adopting a more ‘out there’ style to the initial guitar work, producing a sound which isn’t conventional or predictable. I love the song title of this track, and the lyrical content reflects the statement throughout, resulting in another high point on the album, and another track I would advise you to check out for yourself. Sole Intention presents us with the penultimate track on the album, opening with sounds of water and a growing synth vibe, the whole mix enveloping you in a sense of calm and reflection and one again ushering in that sense of laid back reflectiveness. Some might say there’s a real sense of psychedelic 60’s style music going on here, and it would be easy to see why – the combined vocals with the guitar work form into something which seems to come from above, the heavy drum backing hitting you like rain drops as the track plays out, it’s a track you feel the need to close your eyes to so that you can fully feel it.
Closing with a live recording of Bags Of Ice the band finish the record with a demonstration of what they sound like when it’s just them and no studio – and there’s no real difference to the sound! If ever there was a demonstration of what we could expect from a band if we were to go out and see them live, this is it, closing on a high and leaving on a note which leaves you wanting more and the chance to see them live.
I’m wary of folk music and always have been, there’s just something about that tag which makes me think ‘urgh’ and want to run away, but The Mavis Seed might just turn me around to the idea. This is an album which is chilled out, calm, reflective, upbeat and melodic from start to finish. There’s no over the top effects or studio input, meaning what you hear is what you get – which has to be a damned good thing! This is a band I’ll be looking out for on the live scene, and an album I think I’ll be playing at BBQ’s and summer parties from here onwards, definitely one to look into!
To find out more about The Mavis Seed, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls