LEEDS MUSIC SCENE
cd reviews - January 2010
Rachel Gardner
Midnight Matinée
leedsmusicscene.net

3 out of 5 Stars

Midnight Matinée is the seventh release from New York based The Lost Patrol, and the first recording with singer Mollie Israel.

This is definitely not a CD for those who have a specific genre and stick to that, having been described as everything from 'gothic spaghetti western' to 'experimental surf,' it's no wonder there is some difficulty in deciphering the sound. The tracks float out of the speakers and immerse the listener in a dreamlike world of "twangy-ethereal electric guitars, lush acoustic twelve strings, deep synth textures and sirenic vocals." There is even a touch of bubblegum pop on 'Jukebox on the Moon' complete with sleigh bells and cheery bounce.

Right from the first track you feel like you have been transported into a Tarantino movie, you can practically taste cigarettes and tequila. The guitar style, reminiscent of Tito & Tarantula or Johnny Marr, feels relaxed and effortless. The combination of the acoustic guitars and the electric guitars work really well throughout the album. The former give the songs a warm settling feeling and the latter rest on otherworldly and illustrative.

Mollie Israel's vocals are dreamy and crawl seductively over the tracks with an air of Joni Mitchell mixed with Kosheen's Sian Evans. 'Fades From View' and 'The Fallen' best showcase Mollie's vocals as they become fluid and transcendental, pirouetting over the melodies and reeling you into The Lost Patrol's world, it's a bit of a shame though that some of the lyrical content gets lost along the way.

It comes as no surprise that the history of this band is littered with instrumental soundtrack music as the songs float out of the speakers rather than rush and grab your attention. Throughout the album there is a lack of enough ideas to stand the tracks apart from each other. Although each track by itself is pleasurable enough and well executed, as a whole the tracks are too similar to give this album a sense of depth and dimension.

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