Little Barrie — Stand Your Ground

Pejoratively speaking, there's nothing diminutive, small, or otherwise lacking about Stand Your Ground, the second full length release from English three-piece Little Barrie. Yet the songs here — even the album's closer, 'Pay To Join', which, at 7:23, is about twice as long as any other song on the ten track release — do have a stripped down quality, a delicate and eminently listenable meshing of dynamics, rhythm and instrumentation. For many acts, achieving this sort of balance would entail either intensive sonic surgery in the studio or the musical equivalent of keeping to a strict diet. But one gets the sense that Little Barrie is a band that is, well, just naturally beautiful; slender, strong, and above all confident in itself. Their Edwyn Collins-esque brand of hook-driven, soul-infused retro rock with a rootsy SUN Records stomp and ragged edge sees the Little 'uns attain a well versed swagger, style and maturity. [Ben Howe]