Alt Country Rock newcomers Bears From Labrador’s debut EP ‘Wilderness’ is a four track glimpse into the world Cambridge graduate Dylan Rippon wishes he occupied. There’s nothing British about the entire EP his band has produced, except perhaps a little roll of Stones, but then their sound too was pilfered from America. This is no bad thing, especially when you take such good care of that which you ‘borrow’.

Opening track ‘God’ is the song that most blatantly showcases their influences, and therefore so strongly brings to mind their contemporaries. Its Crazy Horse-era Neil Young meets The Rolling Stones, yet sounding even more like Raconteurs meets Ambulance Ltd. It’s their heaviest track, fizzing rather than fizzling out with crackling, distorted feedback.

It’s quite a surprise then when ‘Trees’ heralds its arrival with Mariachi trumpet before giving way to a real ‘Deal’ bass intro. As if sitting back admiring the intro his band has produced, Rippon’s vocals don’t kick in until over a minute has passed, and when they do we hear the track take on a touch of 70’s psychedelia before turning all Tarrantino. It sounds like 1970’s Beatles may have done had they discovered Mexico instead of India.

Despite such a promising start, things get even better with ‘The Flood’, a country ballad featuring a fine vocal performance and lovely chiming acoustic guitar. Rippon seems to suddenly adopt a very different and unique style here, which continues in final track ‘Rearview’. Starting off with a beat poached from Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Tusk’, mixed with more Mariachi trumpet, this new and improved vocal style gets less of an airing on ‘Rearview’, but is equally as impressive. It all ends with a brilliant trumpet line that some 80’s TV American cop duo may well be on the lookout for.

Far from a grizzly end to such a promising debut, and given what has gone before, Bears From Labrador can stand tall and proud of what they have produced here.

http://www.myspace.com/bearsfromlabrador