Autumn Owls: On the Trail of the Disappearing
Ireland’s Autumn Owls formed way back in 2006. Their real presence wasn’t felt until 2008 when they self released two EP’s. The second, On the Trail of the Disappearing, came out late 2008. Since then the band has found some notoriety both in Ireland and here in the states. Currently the band is on a tour that culminates with them performing at the SXSW Festival in Texas. They’re also preparing their debut album for release later this year.
Autumn Owl is an indie rock act, and On the Trail of the Disappearing reminds me of Remy Zero. Particularly on the first track, “A Thousand Blind Windows”, lead singer Gary McFarlane sounds vocally like Cinjun Tate of Remy Zero. At other times, he seems to be invoking his best raspy voice Bruce Springsteen persona. At other times, “Childhood Slideshow”, he reminds me of Leonard Cohen. Rather than singing, it feels like McFarlane is just fluctuating his speaking voice up and down.
The EP lacks some energy as all the tracks are medium to slow tempered. Couple that with McFarlane’s rather downbeat tone and none of the songs particularly stand out. The EP drones on enticing you to start daydreaming rather than inviting you to listen to each of its parts. Its hard to judge the band based off of one EP. Unfortunately, I’ll be waiting to make my mind up with their full length album. In the mean time, I find it hard to recommend On the Trail of the Disappearing.
Rating: 3.1/10
MP3: Autumn Owls “A Thousand Blind Windows”
Buy: iTunes