Sometimes you get a feel for where a band is coming from. Not in an artistic sense, as you might expect, but a geographic sense. In this case, after just one listen to Arrowflight’s debut EP, you could sense where the band will be going too.
Judging from the three songs on their EP, you can’t doubt the earnest intentions of this Edinburgh based band. There’s the earnestly emotive vocals of Colin Tarbat for a start and the equally earnest musicianship that keeps his voice company as those earnest words take us down a path so often trodden by any of a hundred earnest yet anodyne Edinburgh bands before them. Comparisons are therefore unnecessary but, if I must, think of them as the Fleet Foxes or Bumford & Sons but devoid of the slightest spark of originality.
On the positive side, there is a hint of energy to be found in “Robust Embrace” that suggests that they might be a better band in the live environment and I also have to award a point for using the word ‘exoskeleton’ in “Eastern Wind”. However, that is little compensation for the band’s earnest avoidance of originality. So, if dull is your thing then perhaps this is the EP for you.
The EP is available for free download from Bandcamp.