Lofty Reviews: Stephen Young and The Union – Eagle Fort Rumble

Lofty puts on his reviewers hat and gives his thoughts on Stephen Young and The Union’s album Eagle Fort Rumble

As you might expect from an album called “Eagle Fort Rumble” there is definitely a country/folk rock feel to the latest album from Stephen Young & the Union. However, it’s an album that on review has somewhat of a dual personality.

The album opener “Shiver”, with it’s steel guitar and subtle piano intro, builds into something that grabs you and pulls you in straightway. It trades slow building verses with rousing choruses underpinned by some delicious organ work and searing lead guitar. Next up is “Duty Free 200” a more than serviceable folk rock ballad.

“Lately I’ve Rescued a Rose” marks a departure from the country rock vibe on the opening two tracks. It is not initially evident with the guitar and banjo intro but there is an atmospheric lustre on the track that sees it shine as one of the initial stand out tracks on the album with a delicious coda closing proceedings.

“The Blind Leading The Blind” is a more laid back affair and brings to mind some of the works of Travis, as it’s a catchy tune that showcases the strengths of the band perfectly and strikes me as an obvious single. Later in the album “Beautiful Dead” and “Teardrops on the Sidewalk” could almost be seen as companion pieces. For me the subtlety of these tracks really brings out the strengths of Young’s composition and might be worth focusing on for future releases.

“Land Leg Blues”, as you can probably tell from the title, is a more sanguine affair before we are back with the folk rock of “Monsoon Season” which is another of the album’s stronger tracks that sees the band really hitting their stride.

“Shadowman” recalls Ryan Adams in his more robust guise (and that’s perfectly alright with me) with it’s layering of slide, lead and acoustic guitar done to great effect.

“Shuffle in the Quicksand” is a good old fashioned country rock stomper which is quite infectious. Again it’s the superb guitar work along with the layering of organ that provides the tracks with it’s drive.

Finally, we are treated to a perfect album closer “Someone You Dream Of” which demonstrates the talent that Stephen Young & the Union possess. It’s a simple construct with beautiful piano, shimmering guitar and a heart aching vocal from Young.

At times the split personality of “Eagle Fort Rumble” can be sometimes frustrating however there are moments of real quality on the album and it’ll be interesting to see what the band do next.

You can buy Stephen Young & The Union – Eagle Fort Rumble below:

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