Trevor Sensitive & The Locals are Trevor, Aemelia Norton, Justin Brewood, Edmund of Abingdon and Chelsie Greenhow. They write songs rooted in classic indie song structures but which have a quality, seamless authenticity and deadpan humour about them, as you may be aware if you’ve heard me play tracks from their recent ‘I Knew You Didn’t Love Me Anymore When You Changed Your Facebook Status To Single’ release, including the mighty ‘Codeine’, a winter-themed song now right up there alongside The Doors ‘Wintertime Love’ and The Fall’s ‘Winter’ in the sub-category ‘great frost-tinged songs that have bugger all to do with Christmas’.
‘Codeine’ also appears on the band’s debut album, Sensitive, a collection of beautifully crafted tunes with lyrics that articulate the Frankenstein-like predicament of the intellectually aware and, well, sensitive. ‘Oh Gerald!’ anticipates and humorously plays with the inevitable Smiths comparison, including a nod to the classic ‘Keats and Yeats’ line from Cemetry Gates, but any influences manifest themselves in the form of building blocks rather than mere imitation, with tracks like ‘As Free As Air’ happily playing with self-deprecation with a whimsical nod to the human tragedy of knowing too much ever to feel particularly free. These are no mere copyists: their treading of such ground leads them into fertile pastures few have ploughed, and possibly none with such dexterity.
A version of another self-deprecating nod in the direction of literary pretence ,‘I’ve Read Finnegan’s Wake’ appears in the session in my Dandelion Radio show, streaming at a different time each day throughout February at www.dandelionradio.com. The other three tracks in the session are unreleased. One, ‘The Bag On My Back’, comes as close as ‘Codeine’ to getting to the heart of this band’s spirit, while there are magnificent cover versions of ELO’s ‘10538 Overture’ and The Golden Dawn’s ‘George Hamilton Is Dead’. At some point in the future, I’m pleased so say we’ll be putting out the two original tracks from the session as a single via Unwashed Territories.
In the meantime, visit their blog at http://sensitivemusic.co.uk/blog and grab yourself a copy of ‘Sensitive’ at http://trevorsensitiveandthelocals.bandcamp.com. Check out their two recent singles while you’re there and marvel along with me at the wonderful things this band might spread across the canvas of the coming years.
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