Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

To be considered an Oddity should be seen as something to revel in, something to almost take pride within and be seen as outside the routinely beige and endlessly dull; it certainly sparks of the original and the creative.

For Bethan and the Morgans, the chance to add to the richness of musical inspiration and almost divine like structure of the Black Country scene is like asking of a child wants to go to the dentist or to the sweet shop, especially when the confectionary is free and there is nothing wrong with their teeth; the unusual offering might be considered calculating but it strives to be recognised as novel and loveable. For in Oddity comes richness and a peculiar sense of true identity and Oddity is the watchword when it comes to the band’s new offering.

To be looked upon as different was once a cause for concern for many but thankfully that post Victorian hangover of class based insanity is slightly being eroded away as more people understand that self expression makes Humanity tick rather than the standard popular front offered by the oppressive and the dictatorships that ask for cohesive fundamentalism. Being an Oddity, as each song on the album alludes too with its folk take on different way of living a life and the emotions that are hatched within, is to be celebrated and applauded.

Tracks such as Time Lost On Your Side, Changing Every Day, Parted Ways, Go Away and the luscious beauty that hits the spot in Inconceivable Way make the album presented by Bethan Edwards, David Ross, Lauren Bennett, James Rhodes and Dan Foster something of a triumph, a cascade of truth and liberal attitudes and remarkably frank with its simplicity.

Offering the same tired old songs is where the travellers who hawk so called normal reside; it takes genius on any scale to be fresh and exciting, something that Bethan and the Morgans propose in quiet but distinguished abundance. Infectious and delightful, Oddity is a curiosity worth taking part in.

Ian D. Hall