THE HANGING STARS

Songs For Somewhere Else 7/10

The default mode of The Hanging Stars is neoclassic folk rock, and Songs For Somewhere Else is laden with genre gems: Magisterial opener “On A Sweet Summer’s Day” is The Byrds filtered through The Bends, the plaintive “Honeywater” recalls Big Star-era Alex Chilton and the Fairport-like “How I Got This Way” features harmonies by Miranda Lee Richards, one of several American guests. But the Richard Olson-fronted quintet refuse to be typecast; witness the Doors-meetBrecht-Weill bounce of “Too Many Wired Hours”, the whistled spaghettiwestern preface of Kinks-style satirical character study “Mean Old Man”, the regal brass interlude midway through the country-rock two-step “Dig A Hole”, and the watercolour tone poem “Djupsjön”.