Rotary Ten - These Are Our Hands [CD]

Xtra Mile Recordings

June 6, 2008, 05:49 PM

Sheffield’s finest home-grown heroes Rotary Ten are one of those bands it’s difficult not to fall in love with, irresistible guitar hooks, beautifully sung harmonies and a charm and sincerity that is somewhat lacking in modern British song-writing.

Having signed to London based label Xtra Mile Recordings (Frank Turner, Stapleton, A Silent Film) in late 2007 the band have gone from strength to strength in the build up to the release of their long awaited debut album. After one listen of ‘These Are Our Hands’ it’s pretty obvious that it has been more than worth the wait.

Opening track ‘Idols Of Our Design’ is an upbeat anthem of the summer, a perfect sing along chorus and intricate instrumentation that simply cannot be ignored. It leads perfectly into standout single ‘Time Is Not A Line And I Am Not A Rock’ which is quite frankly breathtaking. Released in April of this year on a limited run of split 7”s with math pop quartet Colour for their single ‘Chutes’, fans of Rotary Ten have known and loved this one for a while and it has since become a regular on dance floors up and down the country. The intricate instrumentation and passionately sung vocals of front-man James Trafford merge together to create an Indie-pop masterpiece that even the most jaded of muso’s would find difficulty in finding flaw.

The oh so addictive ‘Stick Stick Stick’ and the sombre yet uplifting ‘These Men Are Made Of Rust’ are other stellar highlights and are sure to be dominating play counts on ipod’s across the land for many years to come.

Closing ballad ‘Don’t Lean On The Wires’ brings visions to the mind of everything from a night bus journey home to a summer afternoon in the park and is an epic closing note for a truly groundbreaking album.

Each track on the ‘These Are Our Hands ’leads gracefully into the next while complimenting the last, this makes for an album that ultimately never becomes stagnant or stale during it’s of 40 minute duration but instead keeps your ears held firmly against your speakers in fascination.

‘These Are Our Hands’ is something that 2008 should be remembered for in the same way 2006 is remembered for ‘Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not’