Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There should always be a part of the day, no matter for how long or where it takes place, that to give thanks, to be Grateful, should be insisted upon as a rite of keeping in touch with our basic humanity. Instead of the ever-increasing demanding shouts of “This is my right, I know what my privileges are and I want them”, perhaps the long lost art of appreciating even the smallest gesture of good-will, the nod from a passing stranger, should be one that grabs the soul. To be Grateful, is to feel alive.

In Blue Rose Code that very thought of the humble and the refreshing act of indebted thanks comes across with the generous and sweeping songs that make up the Grateful E.P. It is the thought of thanks, of seeing life not just as a series of challenges to be conquered, to be shaped and moulded like malleable clay, but to recognise the glaring fact that there are obligations to be met, to always thank and be conscious of the role that others play in your victory.

The addition of Danny Thompson, the excellent McCrary sisters and perhaps surprisingly Scottish acting legend Ewan McGregor all feature within the heartbeat of the E.P.’s wealth of Folk music offered and it is to them that the final flourishes to a very decent release stands. The full flourish, the burden of dedicated display, though rests completely upon the shoulders of Blue Rose Code and in the E.P.’s title track, the wonderful Midnight’s Mass in Suffolk’s Breast and the three part play like structure of In The Morning are very cool and enjoyable listening. The inclusion of James Yuill’s remix of My Heart, The Sun is perhaps an interesting diversion from the overall feel of the E.P. as it offers a more upbeat flow than where the music arguably asks the listener to place their faith in, however it should not be discouraged, for to have the distraction is to understand how being grateful works; into every moment of delicious sadness must come the ray of perfect sunshine to sweep it off its feet.

Blue Rose Code might suggest thanks, it is to the listener that gratitude bounds from and the merits of each track are not wasted on the sentiment of the day.

Ian D. Hall