THE BOXER REBELLION - THE COLD STILL

I love Saturday's when a new CD drops through the post, today I received the new Boxer Rebellion album, The Cold Still. Even better I got the deluxe 'book' version from HMV with the bonus four track CD. A very nicely put together package, please don't give me a hard time, I still actually buy product, rather than the bland iTunes versions of new releases.

So what to make of TBR? They've been around since 2001 and have the tag of the 'unluckiest band in music', due to serious illness, being dropped by their label, etc, etc. Well I've been a fan since Watermelon came out in 2003, I've got a signed, limited copy (#68 out of 100 no less). TBR write great, brooding songs, with chiming delay ridden lead guitar and Nathan Nicholson's (birthplace Maryville, Tennessee) soaring voice layered over the top. TBR have released three albums, Exits in 2005 and the superb Union in 2009. Union, which initially only had a digital release, hit #4 on the UK top 100 and #2 on the Alternative chart. Union went on to be voted the best Alternative release of 2009 by iTunes editors. Couldn't agree more, it is an outstanding album. TBR went on to feature heavily in the 2010 Drew Barrymore film, Going The Distance with two tracks off Union featured and a new song, If You Run, which plays over the key final scenes of the film.

I'm pleased to say that The Cold Still carries on in the same vein, with maybe a denser sound than on previous releases. Top producer Ethan Johns was brought in for this album, which shows the amount of backing that TBR are now getting. Immediate stand out tracks for me are Step Out Of The Care, Caught By The Light and The Runner. Though Both Sides Are Even, is probably the track to download, to get the quintessential TBR sound. Awesome song. The Cold Still has much more depth than previous TBR releases with organ and other instrumentation prominent on several songs.

I've seen TBR live once before in Leeds on the Union tour and they were excellent, with a huge rock sounds. Hopefully the Leeds show on the 4th March will be equally as good. My tip is that 2011 is the year that TBR really break through, they've got a Letterman appearance looming in the States and it finally looks as though their luck has changed.