3 Songs From Liverpool by Ella Guru (banana1)

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It comes out of nowhere, with a stiff card sleeve bearing nothing but an old black and white photo of a family on a beach somewhere. It reminds me so much of 7-inch singles years ago, I swear even the CD has that smell of freshly-cut shiny black vinyl. There's an insert in there with a poem on it.
Then there's the music. "On a Boat" and "On a Beach", twins, mirror images of each other. Tiny things that are huge in their intimacy. A single resonant guitar line then a voice which could be a deep female or a sensual man sings, miked so up-close that it's like they're whispering in your ear. Another voice, definitely female this time, meanders in, other instruments - a violin, drums somewhere far away. The sound could be American, a bit country, a bit Tom Waits. If he'd grown up in Liverpool, perhaps. And listened to Nick Drake. The fact that you suspect the people who are making this stuff have probably never been further west than Anglesey makes it all even more affecting. Then you get "Strugglin' Horse in Hollywood" and they cheer up enough to sing a song about a failed equine actor drowning his sorrows in a tinseltown bar. It's hilarious and canters on so long you never want it to stop.
This is enough, almost perfect as it is. I want more.