Album Review

The Mules – Pick Your Own

• 15th Oct 2007

This compilation, which brings together many of the acts from The Mules’ residency at the Big Chill House a few months back, is a mixed lot but it does include a few gems from the likes of Noah and the Whale and Eugene McGuinness.

Largely acoustic and in some places really quite dull (Emmy the Great’s ‘The Catch’, Jonquil’s ‘Apparency’) but there’s always Lightspeed Champion’s ‘Devil Tricks for a Bitch’ or Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit’s ‘Hello Hello’ close by to keep you from dozing. Noah and the Whale’s ‘Beating’ in particular is quite beautifully delicate, although The Mules own ‘This Is Your Life’ is surprisingly one of the weaker tracks and not a patch on the pick from their Save Your Face album from earlier this year.

It’s by no means a must own and is really quite an iffy album but there’s enough genuine class here to make you wonder exactly what you missed out on every Monday night in the early summer.