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“We set ourselves a goal with this album, which was to write an uplifting summer record.” – Joel Simpson; Creatures Of Habit.
With the release of their debut album ‘Drawn In Embers’, Sheffield based duo Creatures Of Habit (Joel Simpson and Alex Harrison) are hoping to bring some much-needed lightness to these current chaotic times. Summer tunes; light, cheery, and usually quite cheesy. With its tales of connecting with nature, ‘Drawn In Embers’ is certainly light and cheery, you can scratch the word “cheesy” though.
Complete with fuzzy guitar riffs, and howling vocal intro from Simpson, ‘No Time Left’ kicks the album off in fine style. Quite an uptempo track with a fine groove throughout, and a killer jam midway through. The guitars are way high up in the mix and sound vibrant. ‘Beginnings’ changes it up with a Stereophonics-like guitar sound (as does ‘Pale Shores’). Musically they’re almost in the same ballpark as ‘Dakota’ or ‘Indian Summer’, that perfect summer’s day vibe – although the vocals are much lower than those of Kelly Jones. ‘Roots’ is pure bliss; dreamy vocals, with some cool almost sitar-like guitar licks. The laidback island life state of mind continues during ‘Calling All The Righteous Souls’, which has what sounds like a resonator providing the atmospheric guitar tones.
‘The Night Begins For Us All’ has more of an urgent feel to it and has heaps going on throughout the four-minute running time; great opening guitar riff, fantastic pacey drums, and some beefy basslines. The big-ass bass hangs around on the funk-alicious ‘Better Days’ and combined with Simpson’s fast vocals and loose guitar tones, the track has a hint of a Chili Peppers vibe. ‘Hinterland’ is one of the standout moments on the album, listen to this one late at night on a decent pair of cans and everything is gonna be..alright alright alright. Much the same could be said of the acoustic-driven ‘Letters By The Sea’ which carries the listener away on the softest of clouds. Ending on the folk-tinged ‘Solstice’ – a cautionary tale of not taking time to stop to smell the roses, the closing moments of ’Drawn In Embers’ focusses on the lighter side of the Creatures Of Habit sound.
‘Drawn In Embers’ is very song-driven. Ten individual stories combine to paint a vivid musical landscape, tackle it from start to finish in one sitting and you will be richly rewarded. Interested to see what Creatures Of Habit come up with next.
Connect with Creatures Of Habit here.
