The Shires - Brave

While they might sound like they line-danced out of the Tennessee backwoods, chewing cornstalks and spitting tobacco (or should that be the other way around?), Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earle actually hail from Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire respectively, and are the first British signings to the newly reformed Decca Nashville label.
The Shires’ country-tinged acoustic pop is built on a solid foundation of twin voices and easily hummable melodies, all polished up so it’s shinier than a fake leather coat after a waxing.
‘Tonight’, ‘Jeckyll And Hyde’ and ‘All Over Again’ are the kind of inoffensive pop songs that aren’t going to have music journalists reaching for superlatives but are equally unlikely to have the majority of casual listeners reaching for the ‘off’ switch on their FM dials.
New single ‘(Drunk On A) Friday Night’ may read like a cynical attempt to cash in on the post-work party crowd, but it’s also as infectious as a stomach virus in a pre-school, while power ballad ‘Brave’ could be the title-track from the latest Disney vehicle. Indeed, prolonged exposure to the saccharine emoting of songs like ‘I Just Wanna Love You’ and ‘State Lines’ is a little like a Twix binge: initially pleasant but leaving you with a sickly feeling, as Rhodes and Earle wring every last ounce of pathos from the lyrics.
Like a down-home Noah’s Ark for country fans, ‘Nashville Grey Skies’ is all about how, despite the pack of moonshine and cut-off jeans, the duo can “build our own Nashville under these grey skies.” Presumably it would be some kind of countrified theme park, with rides built around the age-old themes of break-ups, make-ups and broken hearts. It’s a laudable idea: then, we could shut the gates and ensure the tendency to ever-emote is contained within an easily policed area.
The album ends with a quartet of treacly ballads, finishing apparently without a trace of irony with the particularly syrupy ‘How Many Love Songs?’
Tuneful melodies, harmless sentiment and a decent line in harmonies, it’s as bland as you’d expect from modern Nashville: it’ll probably sell by the ferry-load.

Key Track - '(Drunk On A) Friday Night'