The John Knox Sex Club – Raise Ravens

At a mere six tracks long, this second album from Glasgow’s John Knox Sex Club packs its weight within its densely layered, yet loose recordings. Compared to last years’ comparatively straight Blud Rins Cauld, Raise Ravens sounds like a real game raiser. Opening number Kiss The Dirt clocks in at an epic thirteen minutes, taking sojourns around Dirty Three style coastal soundscapes, towering Godspeed rock crescendos and elegiac guest vocals courtesy of Sparrow and the Workshop’s Jill O’Sullivan.

It may be a make or break for listeners, but Raise Ravens holds plenty in reserve either way. The bucolic Above The Waves, which slowly morphs into a rousing lament courtesy of singer Sean Cumming’s sermon like delivery, is another choice moment whilst the driving, near-anthemic The Neighbours is a welcome distillation of the Sex Club sound. In a somewhat crowded scene of new folkies and old post-rock stalwarts, The John Knox Sex Club are cutting out a clear path of their own.