Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 7/10

All the world’s a stage and the sense of theatre can be found in almost every human interaction. For alternative Folk quartet, Clutching At Straws, their debut release of Come What May is a set of songs that glide almost effortlessly between the hard hitting conscious thought, of a different way of living and the hint of illusion in what apparently is important in modern day society. The sound of four men whose undisputed talent keeps them pace ahead of the rat race they are urging others to avoid.

In lesser hands, this twin approach could spell a disaster. However when you have a certain truth in your mind and are able to adapt it to a set of songs which carry that truth in velvet pillow whilst being carried by an iron gauntlet then the world that was a stage, becomes a battlefield, a relentless but well delivered piece of sung oratory.

Come What May has six tracks laden with this kind of musical delivery and whilst it won’t be to everybody’s taste always deserves a listen. For James Baskett, James Wheeler, Thomas Simm and Jake Mahal the message must be told, it must be taken to the highest ground and exalted, however the problem being it can seem a little like listening to Sisyphus groan as he labours to balance a large boulder on the top of mound, it is something to admire the toil and effort but for some it will be a labour completely in vain.

For those that turn away, they are missing out on some very good stuff between the rock and the hill, the money and the muse, none so less as The Price You Paid, Forged Tales and the very cool Through Your Eyes. What carries the entire project through though is the gentle English humour, the North Midlands attitude that serves the people of Staffordshire well.

For a debut album by a band that has a tremendous amount of self-belief and the musical expertise to back it up, it is an interesting diversion to be enjoyed, whether the listener buys into the arguments in the songs is another matter.

Ian D. Hall