The Spares – Beautiful and Treacherous Thing

The Spares – Beautiful and Treacherous Thing / 2007 Tweed / 12 Tracks / http://www.thespares.net / http://www.tweedrecords.com/

The Spares blend together alternative music with a brand of bluegrass-influenced country music that is first heard on “Waiting For The Smoke To Clear”. The vocals will remind listeners of a young Allison Krauss, while the guitars present during the track vary between the to styles. Regardless, what is being sang is something that individuals can easily appreciate. While there is not a high amount of energy to the track (the vocals are much more meandering than anything), this is perfect as an opening for the disc.

Depending on which track The Spares are playing, the influences change slightly. The pop stylings of “You And The Moon” remove a great deal of the country influence on the track. The thread that is present through the entirety of the disc has to be the strong, timeless vocals. These vocals immediately make it known that a track is a Spares track. “Chapel of the Winding Road” is a solid track, but individuals should rightfully wonder why there is not more fire in the vocals and tempo of the overall track. If that was present, the song would be stronger. I can understand the reluctance to go and really carpe diem, but the dreamy, slow pop style of The Spares can only be repeated so many times.

The slightly faster style of “Cigarette Song” is where I feel that The Spares should go with their next albums. There is still a storytelling element to The Spares, but the instrumentation eschews its Spartan tendencies and moves towards creating a better framework with which the vocals can work. This only happens a few times at the disc, but the faster tempo and more complete instrumentation is where The Spares should go with their next few releases. The whole album has some nice songs that will force listeners to focus in, but The Spares do not have that “Earl”-like song that brought an act like the Dixie Chicks to the fore. The songs are nice and the arrangements match well with the vocals present, but there needs to be a step up before The Spares can get their time in the sun. I have no doubt that subsequent albums will be stronger, but the material that is present on “Beautiful and Treacherous Thing” is just lacking at some level. Give this disc a go if you want to hear a band that is on their way up, but has not made it there yet.

Top Tracks: Nodding Like I Do, Jesus I Long For Thee

Rating: 5.2/10