Ham Sandwich - Carry the Meek

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The right mix of poignancy and darkness

While some sound the death-knell for the album ever louder, there are still plenty whose records drown it out. Like this one.

Freed from the constraints of cool moniker syndrome and worrying whether it fits the sound, Kells quintet Ham Sandwich turn in as assured and alluring a debut as you'll get between now and the turkey.

Two singers, the right mix of poignancy and darkness in its break-up narrative and some well-timed instrument punishment give 'Carry the Meek' a primitive power which few can summon well - the line "I think I got my hearing back" is very apt, but there's a lot done to your heart too.

And, like the most dysfunctional of couplings, you'll keep coming back. Some will find the name unforgivable, but some of the music is unforgettable.

Harry Guerin   

Tracklisting: St Christopher - Keepsake - Click...Click...Boom!!! - Never Talk - Words - Broken Glass - Sad Songs - Sleep - Ashes - Through the Grass