On their debut album it seems Manchester's Folks have set about giving us a tour of various points in rock music's history. 'I See Cathedrals' almost sounds like a compilation with the way they hop from one style or era to another, rarely staying in one place too long. I guess this record could be a handy introduction to fifty years' worth of guitar music for anyone starting out on a musical journey totally from scratch. Your traditional bass/drums/guitar/vocals format has given us a multi-faceted selection of sounds, some good and, naturally, some bad. Because Folks seem intent on replicating so many of their heroes and covering so much ground on this record we get some good and, naturally, some bad too.
It's odd that they choose imitation so often instead of searching for their own identity, but this hasn't prevented dozens of past bands doing exactly the same. The Folks' whistle-stop rock tour stops off at psych/blues ('My Mother'), summery semi-acoustics ('People I've Known'), 'No One Knows' by Queens Of The Stone Age meets ELO's 'Mr Blue Sky' ('Skull & Bones'), intimate, heartfelt balladry ('Ink'), Oasis doing one of their slow, piano type numbers ('Where Does The White Go'), a reflective, lengthier final track ('The Ship') and lots in between, much of which would have made a nice Ocean Colour Scene B-side. There's a sense that they can do better than this yet have chosen to reflect the sounds of their idols instead of creating something unique.
'Do The Right Thing' plunders the intro to 'London Calling' seemingly without a second thought, but instead of punk fury we get earnest chart-rock. They've landed some high profile support slots with the kind of bands you'd expect (Band Of Skulls, Miles Kane, Noel Gallagher) and it's always good to look beyond a single format when it comes to songwriting, and Folks are capable of writing some fairly likable tracks. On the final song they ponder "is this your heaven or is this my hell?". The answer is probably neither, it's a nondescript middle-ground. The trouble is that it's great being a band with many ideas, but not so great when none of them are your own.
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