What a fantastic breath of fresh air The Southern Cradle are. Instead of limiting themselves to the boundaries that many of their older and more experienced peers have done by just settling for your average emotionally ravaged 3 minute tale, they have gone a step further. And here’s the science for all the youngsters out there. What they have done is something rare for a band in such infancy; 3 minute power chord crunchers are out and in come the Promise Ring esque melodies and complex song structures, which thankfully don’t drag a bit throughout the four tracks.
And that is the key difference. While there are only four tracks here, it lasts a staggering 23 minutes with the shortest track being just over five minutes long, but there are scant moments when you feel as if the song goes on a little longer than it should. Track One manages that rare feat towards the end, but before that it included a hearfelt brooding introduction, some cracking layered vocals and while it was nothing radical, it showed how the quartet weren’t afraid to strip the song down to show variation in the melody. While the second track doesn’t quite function as well as its predecessor it still holds its own although thankfully this is the only time any real screaming is used and is chief perpetrator of ruining the flow of the track. The climax of the demo is one to admire though as they manage to find the perfect blend of pacing and song structure. A rolling drum pattern and the gruff vocals of Nick Jackson make the song stand out and the seven-minute duration flies by as variations of the same song tone complete an extremely promising four tracks.
The Southern Cradle have been a welcome addition to my CD collection this Easter and show maturity beyond there years with an extremely accomplished emocore outing to test even the most hardened of doubters. Having seen many bands produce similarly promising demos in the past and simply fade away makes you reserve judgement for the time being, but for now this will serve them just dandy.
Jay