Review: West On Colfax - Barfly Flew By

With their previous releases touching the same genes that helped Teenage Fanclub, The Fall and Wedding Present achieve critically acclaimed success, West On Colfax release their debut long player Barfly Flew By via Greenhorse Records, mixing Americana, blues, folk and dash of indie, the musical mix is right and so it the material laid bare for all the hear. Kicking off with Choke Hold sounds like the distant cousin of He’d Be A Diamond, the track is strewn golden production making this a mighty fine canter to get the wheels moving.

The Line has a slide guitar intro before a gentle gliding rhythm erupts into a euphoric organ rich chorus, the likes of this would have fit well on Dear Mr Fantasy. Misty Morning Blue is a beautiful love song with the words ‘I still love you’ sung delicately by singer by Alan Hay. Back Out On The Run has traces of Ronnie Lane’s gentle ballad Debris, banjo playing here comes to the fore with brital, beautiful results, as does the use of a guiding whistle at the close.

The title track could be taken direct from the Music From Big Pink, descending guitar, galloping chords, straight forward blues at it’s best. This Ole Heart is another gorgeous gentle number, ‘don’t let me drown in my tears’ Hay laments, with what sounds like a piano by the side of a late night bar, this is the sort of number to get the matches out to light up any venue, they even sound abit like The Pogues, but with teeth. The Final couple of tracks, Tyre Marks starts as the album began with another upbeat guitar laden upbeat number before Light Again glistens with a Rhodes keyboard and acoustic guitar accompanied with the vocals ‘I will take the count and fight again’ telling a story of never giving up, something the whole world needs now. An accomplished and polished debut from these masters of melancholy.

Barfly Flew By can be purchased via the following link