MOJAVE 3

Mojave 3: Rachel Goswell (vocals, bass); Neil Halstead (vocals); Simon Rowe (guitar); Alan Forrester (keyboards); Ian McCutcheon (drums).
Additional personnel includes: Melvin Duffy (pedal steel guitar);
Kevin Wells (banjo); Mark Armstrong (trumpet).
Engineers include: Gareth Parton, Dave Mercer, Nuno De Silva.
Mojave 3 proves what shoegazer royalty Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell's former band Slowdive hinted at all along: great songwriting speaks for itself, whether swaddled in blissed-out textures or wrapped up with pedal-steel guitar and strings. EXCUSES FOR TRAVELLERS rambles right back down the dusty trail, with another clutch of superb songs and far greater confidence.
"In Love With a View," "Prayer for the Paranoid," and "She Broke You So Softly" are the stuff of sheer, epic beauty. Mojave 3 heaps stirring choruses, soaring vocals, and bravado guitar breaks upon Halstead's poignant story songs. Perfectly placed instrumental accents and Goswell's gossamer harmonies add further layers of loveliness. Mojave 3 does its influences proud, combining the tale-spinning craft of Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons, and Jimmy Webb with Nick Drake's aching candor on "My Life in Art" and "When You're Drifting." The gently rocking "Return to Sender" and "Any Day Will Be Fine" demonstrate Halstead's uncanny knack for summoning timeless melodies from thin air. "Got My Sunshine" makes for a gorgeous, gospel-flavored closer, though the US edition extends EXCUSES FOR TRAVELLERS with two fine B-side tracks.

Estimated despatch 14-20 days after ordering.