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 amateur 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
“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.”
This is an album to fall in love with. From the opener Terese, Gareth Cavil has got your attention and your heart. Read the rest of this entry »
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 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.
