The Second Hand Marching Band are a 22-piece collective strewn accross the Central Belt of Scotland from Fife to Glasgow, featuring moonlighting members of various Glasgow/Edinburgh bands. 'A Dance To Half Death' is their first release, a six song EP appearing via Wishaw's Chaffinch Records, who have previously released material by King Creosote and Lucky Luke.
Opener "Mad Sense" is a short, mournful, burst of what sounds like a harmonium and vocals. It's quite slight, but the layering of female vocal over the male lead is quite pretty. Second track "Lies" brings in marching drums, brass and choir vocals, and acts largely as a bridge into the EP's two undeniable highlights - "A Dance To Half Death" and "Don't!".
"A Dance to Half Death" sounds like Beirut, there's no getting away from it, but (a) sounding like someone else is never a crime, if (b) the song itself is as beautiful as this. The brass section on its is brilliant as the second half of the song sways woozily and wistfully, barely buoyed by accordian and percussion. "Don't!" is more excitable, coming on like Architecture in Helsinki if they'd been from the Highlands & Islands rather than Australia.
"Not Yet" is more downbeat, starting as a finger-picked lament before building up again towards the end, while "We Walk in the Room" seems broadly to be a theme song for the band. Musically it's a more subdued sibling to the EP's title track, but is lovely in it's own right.
I've not had a chance to see the Second Hand Marching Band live yet, but on the basis of this EP they're shaping up to be something quite special indeed.
'A Dance To Half Death' is available direct from Chaffinch, or alternatively from the fine gentlemen of Norman Records.
[Stream] The Second Hand Marching Band - A Dance To Half Death
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