Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Live and in person, the sound triggers the imagination, the lyrics offer the heart a chance to beat quicker, to the mind a sense of purpose is grasped, and for the soul, well when you listen to Sebastian And The Poor Valley Marauders in full flight, the soul can only praise which ever deity gave you ears for the belief you are about to receive.
Live. Volume 1 is sheer bliss, a reveal for the uninitiated, a pleasure expanded for those who have seen and revelled in the rise of the Liverpool group headed by the industrious and fiercely loyal Mark Sebastian D’Lacey; and in this six track live E.P., the listener is treated to a legend in the making, a musician who entertains a crowd as if he knows that they will be starved of musical tenderness and a rocking finale for a decade.
Of course, performing in Liverpool, the music never fails to be heard, the pact that encompasses all who find their way to the city by the Mersey is such that the lyric and the instrument are afforded a status that the live attendee finds captivating, and the ones at home who listen with dedication, are thrust into the imagination of a city that routinely cares for its creatives and artistic originals.
There, in the spotlight, stands Sebastian And The Poor Valley Marauders, the sheer scope ready to be unleashed and delivered with force, and also harmony of spirit. Live they are unstoppable, and this has been evident from the very beginning. Across the tracks I Couldn’t Speak, Brand New Fool, the tremendous All The Pretty Lies, Fire In Her Eyes, This Is What The Blues Look Like, and the finale of Too Far Gone, that early fire has been consumed and enlarged, it is a conflagration of heat, it is a storm of inspired intensity, and even if you are dependent on being entertained and enlightened at home, this E.P. will force you to venture beyond your door, to coax you with sincere intent to join in the fun, the groove, and the majesty of the performance.
An exceptional release, live, in person, the marauders supplying the crackling energy to one of the city’s modern heroes.
Ian D. Hall