Sparrow & the Workshop: Toad Session 4

Writing a post specifically about another music blog's a bit weird, isn't it? But what the heck; there's good, free music to be had and surely nobody'll complain about me spreading the word.

The Toad Sessions have been a bizarre bunch, so far.  The very first one all the way back in March (with the justifiably hyped Broken Records) yielded what has since proved to be my favourite music of 2008 (so far...).  I actually prefer the session tracks to the genuine full-band Broken Records recordings; they really let the strings shine, and have a lovely roughly-but-well-mixed vibe.

I get the impression that the idea was that Matthew (a.k.a. Toad) would record all the sessions at his house, but for some reason the first one ended up being done in a real studio, and thus sounded really swish and nice.  Those of you who like to read between the lines will already be thinking "so all the others sound rubbish, then?", and in a way it's kind of the truth.  The later sessions are obviously more DIY, but then that's half the point: they're informal and personal, which is super.  And the music still sounds great, which is really all that matters.

So, Toad Session 4 features Sparrow & the Workshop.  I'm not at all familiar with the band, and being as all I know about them I learned from the session itself I shan't even attempt to sound knowledgeable or informed.  Needless to say, if you're a fan of the husky indie folk that seems to be _de rigueur _at the moment then you're sure to find something of interest in the interview/session.  S&tW add slightly yank lilt to the current Scottish trend, but then their lead singer/songwriter is a yank, which would seem to explain that.  The music is remarkably rounded for a three-piece (vox/guitar, bass, drums) and the songs are remarkably mature for someone who's only been writing music for a (comparatively) short while.

[audio //www.bearfacedrecords.com/EbMBlog_mp3s/SparrowAndTheWorkshop/SparrowAndTheWorkshop_TheGun_ToadSession.mp3]

Sparrow & the Workshop - The Gun (Toad Session)

In short, get yourselves over to the Song, by Toad site and listen to the session podcast, watch a couple of videos and download all the session tracks.  You'll not be disappointed.