12 September 2008
Dorset Echo

Elsewhere in today's pile, I must confess to being seriously and profoundly impressed by the debut album from Bristol-based country/soul/blues/gospel perpetrators Phantom Limb. Everything about them oozes discreet class, right down to the CD packaging, all brown and gold leaf. Which is what they sound like in fact: rootsy and woody, flecked with gold. To read the band members' CVs would give you a completely erogenous idea of what to expect: Massive Attack, Roni Size, Will Young... Phantom Limb call none of these to mind, and are all the better for it. Acoustic guitar, pedal steel and Hammond organ predominate, while vocalist Yolanda Quarty - whose surname can so nearly be written by lying directly on top of your computer keypad - is one hell of a find. Hear her practically jettison over the coda of I'll Never Be The Same Again, then within seconds purr like a soul country kitten on My Love Has Gone. The album's standout track is probably Playing With Death, a truly intuitive performance almost boasting an almost prenatural sense of stillness. And is that Dan Moore, ex of this parish, on keyboards throughout? I do believe it is, which adds a frisson of local interest to an album which would be hitting all over the place regardless. Incredible stuff.