Plumes is a swift follow-up to last year’s A Fairer Sea, Mike Gale’s Winchester-based band Co-Pilgrim retain the jangling Teenage Fan Club styled Americana on opening track Grew Into Something New while Pushover and the strings-adorned Dancing Hoods hark to The Byrds. However, they’ve clearly been busy expanding their sound and influences between releases with the trumpet punches and rhythm swing of the second cut, I Know Love, owing a considerable debt to Northern soul and Dexys while I Saw You Heavenly Girl suggests Fleetwod Mac and Heartache Row remind me of the blissful harmonies of the Everlys.
What you notice most is the lusher, fuller sound and the strong summery feel to the likes of the star-kissed Come Out Alive, the intoxicatingly languid Shame On You and the gentle, lap steel sway of It’s Curtains For Me. It could have done without the pointless two minute keyboard cosmic drone that is Wedding Day, but otherwise, it’s the sort of record that makes you hope the weather holds out long enough to enjoy to the full.
Review by: Mike Davies
Out Now (Worldwide) via Battle Music
Available via Amazon