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Take the melancholy melodies of Poor Moon and pair them with the rich guitar tones and harmony of Dry The River and The Shins and you get pretty close to My Grey Horse. I know, what’s not to like?

Hailing from Stratford-Upon-Avon, this harmonious five piece are about to release their debut album ‘I Still Don’t Understand’. Since forming in 2009 My Grey Horse have been working hard to create this well-deserved hype and have locked themselves away in a forest cabin to record the album.

Their first single ‘Days Will Follow’ really captures the energy and atmosphere of the whole record. A warm banjo is strummed over lively percussion and accompanied by melodies that you’ll be humming for days. This track, although incredibly catchy, could be seen as slightly repetitive. Maybe too much of a good thing? I want to come away itching to play it over and over, not feel like I already have.

At times they drop out the distorted guitars and drums, and really push out the lyrical content with tracks like ‘John D Longlake’ which gives the listener a breather while still maintaining your interest to hear more. A lot of bands seem to forget about this when trying to cram twelve three minute singles into their album. Not for me thanks, an album should be able to keep your attention, like Breaking Bad or Scrapheap Challenge.

Their album closer ‘You’ll Never Learn’ is their stand out track, with delicate piano and guitar throughout the intro, this gives us a real chance to hang on every word. The track twists and changes and finally builds into an eruption of percussion. I’ve always been a big fan of one song in two parts, like ‘The Shrine/An Argument‘ by Fleet Foxes, ‘You’ll Never Learn’ delivered this and I was not left disappointed.

The writing and recording of this album is tasteful, and progresses, while still remaining faithful to the foundations of their sound. Although I enjoyed the record, I can’t help but think that they need to distinguish and focus on their unique selling points and sounds, making sure they don’t slide into that long list of indie folk bands that gig relentlessly around this small island and struggle to reach the true height that they deserve. Fingers crossed. After all, there’s plenty here to like.

Words by Joe Howard