There's a moment of dread when you put on a record like this and read the associated information; self-made, self-produced, self-released. There's usually a reason why a band can't get a record company to put out their record - it's poor, sub-standard and sounds like it's been recorded in someone's toilet. However, there's always a case that's the exception to the rule and The Pantones debut record is one of them.

With all the hype around the Arctic Monkeys and the way they used the internet to spread their music, it sometimes doesn't register that other bands have been doing this and releasing records by themselves for a lot longer. In this case, why no-one hasn't caught onto these guys is a complete mystery. Perhaps not making music that is inherently fashionable may have something to do with it and the inability of PR companies to find something to spin this into so that music magazines can put on their front cover.

However, they've decided to become the self-confessed leaders of Americana-indie-pop and I can't think of a better way of describing this myself.



Ploughing the fertile fields of alt-country and Americana with their music echoing their obvious influences of The Jayhawks, Wilco and The Pernice Brothers but there is also, in my mind, influence from our shores in the name of The Smiths and certainly the lyrical quirks and story-telling ability of Morrissey. What struck me most about this record upon listening to it was the novel-esque quality of the songs, each of them creating clear images in my mind with a real emotion edge. Matthew Carlson, lead singer and writer, has said that he didn't set out to record songs like this, it just flowed from him and it must have come from some deep, subconscious space for this kind of connection. Dealing with lost love, depression and loneliness they may not be the most cheery of lyrics, but it somehow gives you hope. There's small notes of triumph in each of these songs - that the protagonist here (whether it's Carlsson or not) has got over this, has managed to find a silver lining to his cloud is reassuring.

Carlson's voice may not be as strong as Morrissey's, but the delivery is smooth and comfortable and certainly reminds me of Joe Pernice's which floats along the melody effortlessly. The music is certainly unrelated to these shores, bathed firmly in the waves of pedal steel and gentle acoustic guitar. But it's what's being said here that raises this record above the usual alt-country crowd and sets it apart from their influences.

Admittedly, this may not be to everyone's taste and its only the slightly dulled production and the sometimes "alt-country by numbers" musicianship that stops this from hitting a true high, but it's still a great hidden gem of a record that deserves to be heard by more people. Seek it out and give it a listen.

Unfortunately you can't buy this record through Amazon etc, but if you'd like to pick it up try CD Baby which has a few tracks to stream too.