Cavil

Mares’ Tails review in R2

Radio Khartoum — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 18:35:16 +0000

“If I’m not mistaken – and to be fair I often am on this sort of thing – mares’ tails are those whispy clouds that appear on humid days just before things get a bit stormy. Whatever the potential shortcomings of my amatuer meteorology, it’s a pretty apt description of the dozen songs on Leeds-based Gareth Cavill’s second album.

“Lo-fi and melancholically introspective it may be, yet there’s a Northern stoicism to the delivery that suggests this isn’t idle self absorption but a harbinger of shit to hit all our emotional fans. It’s a neat trick that only a Frenchman or Yorkshireman can really pull off (sorry Morrisey – wrong side of the Pennines) – upbeat moribundity you can whistle along to.”
—Oz Hardwick, R2 Rock’n'Reel, November/December 2010

Mares’ Tails UK release 4 October 2010

Radio Khartoum — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:36:12 +0000

Mares’ Tails is now being distributed in the UK via Folkwit Records and Proper Music Distribution.

Mares’ Tails review in Uncut

Radio Khartoum — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:01:58 +0000

Delicious lo-fi melancholy from Leeds.

Like the clouds after which it’s named, Gareth Cavill’s second album hints at unsettled weather ahead. As he traces wistful acoustic patterns over gentle waltzes, his voice delivers memorable lines like “your beautiful mouth is filled with terrible teeth”, while spoken-word closer “Small Moments” praises the simple pleasures of solitude. Those nostalgic for Sarah Records will also revel in “Cold Heaven’s” sparkling crescendo and, especially, “These Things”, whose brushed drums and echoing guitars sound like an English Pennines take on East River Pipe’s intimate sadness.
—Wyndham Wallace

Mares’ Tails review by Leicester Bangs

Cavil — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:15:25 +0000

“This is an understated gem of an album when given a second chance. Your patience will be rewarded if you give Cavil time to settle in with you. My suggestion is to try putting your feet up, getting nice and comfy (with a cup of tea at your elbow, perhaps) before pressing the play button. I do hope everyone out there will do just that, because everyone will then have a very nice time listening to this delightful album.”

Mares’ Tails review by Sounds XP

Radio Khartoum — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:20:10 +0000

This is an album to fall in love with. From the opener ‘Terese’, Gareth Cavil has got your attention and your heart. You know the album is going to be painful at times to listen to and not in a bad way. The warnings are there. The solitary figure on the back cover looking through the lens at the Mares Tails signifies to me that the next twelve songs are going to contain a lot of soul searching and I am right.

This is Cavil’s second album and I must say, on the strength of this one, I am sad to say that the debut album passed me by though I will hunt it down now.

His vocals are velvety and you believe in them as he sings the kind of lyrics that poets were born to write. The album is so inspirational that I cannot even write a review about it without using flowery language!

Songs like ‘Plastic Bag (That’s my flag)’ are composed to within an inch of perfection and it’s a song that you could just play again and again. I would love to hear this sung live.

Maybe it’s because he is based in Leeds that he can deliver such a depressing and yet beautiful account of an array of subject matter. The likes of ‘Pennine Town’ shows that Cavil absorbs his surroundings and turns it into music.

Who knows what ultimately influences Cavil but when a man can hold your attention as he sings songs about what appear to be trivial things like plastic bags and clumsy hands and give them a powerful significance, who cares? He even brings a beautiful quality to Planespotting.

It all ends with the wonderful ‘Small moments’ which reminds me of ‘Wickerman’ by Pulp.

It is simplicity and the magical combined to produce songs about the everyday that become the remarkable. Look for him.
—Mary B, SoundsXP

Mares’ Tails review by Jumbo Records

Cavil — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:05:29 +0000

“A superb album that lends itself to those lost bands and artists like Velvet Underground, Nick Drake, Colin Blunstone, Alasdair Roberts who magic’d up emotional moments that seem to timeless. A collection of fragile songs about feelings we’ve all encountered. Bravo!”

Mares’ Tails released on 15 June 2010

Radio Khartoum — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:22:44 +0000

Mares’ tails — known to cloud watchers as cirrus uncinus — are feathery strands of frozen cirrus cloud. Beautiful from afar, they signal the approach of a warm front, forecasting change and turmoil.

Mares’ Tails is the second album from Leeds-based songwriter Gareth Cavill (two Ls) aka Cavil (one L).

Mares’ Tails captures life lived under the presence of prevailing south westerlies in a Pennine town in a series of folk nocturnes, filled out with brushed drums, trembling bass, glockenspiel, and the occasional waves of echoing guitars. Delivered with a calm assurance, the major chords never far from minor, and the lyrics, while essentially contented, never far from a tinge of regret. These are lullabies of everyday betrayal and longing. Phantoms of freedom abound: the wind, a plastic bag waving from the branches of a tree, flocks of migratory geese, and the art of plane spotting.

The new album comes out on Radio Khartoum in the US on 15th June on CD and LP. Pester your local shop to get it from Darla or CTD, or order directly from Radio Khartoum.