10 o'clock Horses @ Sumac 24/06/06 @ Sumac Centre For those who haven't discovered the Sumac Center, it is a really cool alternative venue situated in Forest Fields. It is like walking into someone's front room, ran by volunteers, with some great beer and interesting leaflets and books on display, the band are set up in the corner of the room and softly tonight's act, the 10 o'clock Horses, start up their set with the weird sound of the digeridoo. The punters slowly shuffle away from the warm evening sun and outside sitting to jump around to Manfield's finest folk/dub/punk act. 10 o'clock Horses  This band are top class musicians and mix their sounds brilliantly to create a mass of energy and emotion. The first song has moving mandolin and fiddle melodies, which seem to compete for who is loudest, with the funky, bouncing bass and booming drums, this ..band create an awesome mix of fast folk that has a punky edge. Every song has a catchy melody and the band has some great stage presence, with the male vocalist wearing a pink dress and shouting out his lyrical messages whilst the fiddle playing female vocalist, Maria, runs round the room and chats in a relaxed manner between songs. The songs all build well, kicking in and out and changing tempo very smoothly. The band also has a mass of instrumental talent with members swapping instruments including djembe, mandolin, fiddle, acoustic and electric guitars, drums, bass, duel vocals and sax in their sound. The atmosphere slowly builds until the whole room is jumping around in glee. This is a master class of diversity and as the set continues the music gets better and better, with punky tracks like 'Money' and funky folk numbers such as 'Helen's Last Bag of Chips' getting the crowd up and dancing whilst the chilled Dub edge of 'My World' really impressed with the deep and sexy vocals of Maria fitting perfectly with the laid back funky groove. This was a great night in a great atmosphere and the 10 O'clock Horses really worked well here. They mix so many styles but are so good at them all, mixing the upbeat and purposeful sounds of Folk/punk with the chilled and funky sound of dub and ska. On this performance this band are one of the most fun, talented and diverse in the city right now so check them out! Review By- Gaz (saggy pants )

First track Mowers is completely instrumental and is a really building and bouncy start to this album. With a really funky sax leading the way and some soft and subtle violin sharing/fighting for who takes centre stage, it is a busy song that moves well with driving drums and melodies that build and get bigger and bigger as this 2 minute epic continues. It introduces the 10 o'clock Horses perfectly before second track 'Money' breaks in.

This second song is a folky, bouncing offering with some very cool honkey tonk style piano and bluesy harmonica. The male vocal is deep and brooding and with the catchy vocal patterns, it has rock n roll edge that gives it drive and bounce. Next we are taken in a different direction with a Dub song. Mixing their styles and instruments is a common thing on this album and 'My World' is quite different to many other tracks on this offering but it stands out as a tune of the highest quality.

The soft sax and heavy bass lines lead the subtle way musically whilst the sexy, deep female vocal stands at the front of the song. The vocalist has real soul and emotion in her voice and this combined with the brilliant, catchy lyric lines and patterns is what makes this song. The sax solo in the middle and the funky wah guitar help build this song up into a huge dub, reggae classic which gives you a real chilled and happy feeling which is only overcome by the fact your head is nodding and your feet are tapping. At the end in goes all crazy and double time with an immense burst of sax and with the drumming kicking up several notches. 'Devil in Me' is another bouncy hoedown folk song, with a jittery mandolin leading the melodies this time and once again returning to the driving bass lines and drumming and with the male vocalist growling his way through these near 3 minutes of punk/folk craziness.

Track 5, 'Didge Song', unpredictably starts with a didgeridoo and then over the top come some beautiful layers of violin, mandolin and some great cymbal work from the drummer. This song softly builds and has a very relaxed and ambient feel with a slight dub edge and still the folk influence, it has a almost tribal feel which continues into the next track, 'Helen's Last Bag of Chips'.
This starts with booming percussion and with soft keys and weird noises in the background, the fiddle comes in and out with a really, really catchy melody and the catchy vocal patterns make this another very memorable song. Final track 'Johnny' has a real 'Levellers' feel, with a huge fiddle melody and rolling drums and bouncing bass. The female and male harmonies work really well and the use of the repeating lyric lines make it a catchy and fun ending to this album with the screaming 'YeeeeeHahhhhs' thrown in through out and the simple driven riff.

10 o'clock Horses are a real bucket of delight and with their raw folk feel they remind me at times of bands like 'Flogging Molly' but with their very driven bounce and mass depth of instrumental talent, they also have a very live feel to this album and it has a lot of movement and feeling. They are also very very catchy and songs like 'My World' and 'Helen's Last Bag of Chips' are sing along classics. This style of Folk/Punk is not played by that many bands especially on the local scene and 10 o'clock Horses certainly have a original and exciting edge to their sound with the odd dub and reggae influence as well as the tribal feel that the drums and percussion give off. If you want a feel good band that shows a range of cultured influences and uses it's variety of talent to the highest standard, check this band out!  Review By- Gaz (saggy pants)