Single Review: Band in Town

Band In Town is the latest single from folk/pop singer Mahoney Harris. Inspired by memories of her mum and friends getting ready for nights out, the cover actually features both her mother (on the left) and her godmother. I haven’t heard any of Mahoney’s earlier material, but from I have read this is a bit of a shift for her, as this is far more country and western than what I expected. There is a wonderfully languorous feel to this song, where the focus is always her beautiful voice, which is never rushed in its approach, singing slowly with a lovely tone. It is not easy to sing in this manner, but she makes it seem so, taking the listener back to the laid-back folk style of the early Sixties, yet as the song develops it takes on a slow country swing style with backing vocals, piano, picked electric guitar, a funky bass and some wonderfully distorted guitar chords packed full of reverb.

The production is perfect, with Mahoney always very much front and centre with the accompaniment allowed to become richer over time, yet always there in the perfect support mode. Lyrically she takes us through the events taking place in her memory “The singer’s such a show-off, the bass player’s high, and the drummer is always the nicest guy.” It would be interesting to put that last comment on drummers to the vote among the bands I know, as it would be sure to generate some interesting debate, although I know they would all agree about the singer, as that is one of the qualities which make a good front person. The gentle groove combined with those light vocals and the melodic hooks make this a very interesting release indeed. I certainly hope to hear more in the new future.