Albums of the Year # 127 The Hepburns - Only The Hours

 

In old fashioned pubs with a good selection of traditional ales available the length and breadth of the land indie guitar band stour and demonstrate their latest wares to small but appreciative audiences.

None of these bands ever wanted to be on Top of the Pops really. Tour America or be on the cover of Smash Hits. Or even The NME.

They wanted a John Peel Session maybe an Indie hit to be remembered. Then they wanted to get hitched. Settle down like everybody else. Have a normal life. There's nothing wrong with that. Regardless of what Bibby Gillespie might try to tell you.

Llanelli's The Hepburns got what they wanted for the most part . Now they're back. To make slightly wistful,middle aged albums for their devoted fanbase. And organise short pub tours to support them.

This lot might as well be the Welsh Belle & Sebastian, having emerged at a similar point of the Nineties. They lack the B&S scale. The idea that these last school years were so utterly momentous. It's worth remembering that they weren't happy ones for many.

Latest album Only The Hours has some nice, gentle moments without ever threatening to stop the traffic. Not every record needs to. In fact it would be rather exhausting. Sometimes it's great to have something like this to fall back on.  A nice way to spend forty minutes.