New Music 2013 - Part 31 - Mahoney and The Moment

I wrote a preamble yesterday and I'm sticking with it. It was, indeed, probably indicative of a more fundamental truth than I realized at the time I wrote it.
After seven years of blogging about music some things are still difficult; starting new posts is often one of them and yet any resulting criticism is not so, strangely.  This, however, is the hardest thing of all...
Mahoney and The Moment is an act that chose to introduce themselves to my attention and I'm not sure that I really deserve that.
It has therefore taken me about a week to get my head around this. The title of their second and again self-released LP 'Don't Say No!' rather sets the tone to one of expectation rather than denial. That is when it gets really tough for me... so the only thing to do was listen to it. Once, twice... lots.
Very early on in the writing of this little blog I set down a policy of not writing about things that I don't like and I've been pretty good at sticking to it.

Don't Say No! - Mahoney and The Moment (2013)

    

As it happens I didn't have to worry about that, so here it is. They describe the music (Steve is from London and Emily from Boston, MA.) as transatlantic folk or Anglo-American folk rock. Those labels, whilst accurate, seriously under-sell this album - although perhaps better describe their self-titled début album.
The deal is that this is very good and it is quite distinctive too. Given the current situation concerning the cross-over between UK and US folk/roots/alt-country-rock, and every conceivable hybrid thereof (that is all to the good) this is one phenomenal achievement.

Track-by-track reviews are something I rarely do but, since I rate this album highly as a whole, I might just make an exception in due time... not least because the opening track 'Who Is Archie Lane?' begins with the lyric "I don't like you...", before some seconds later the brass section comes to the fore. What's not to like?
So good it is, indeed, that I shall share it with you.