Bird & Bone (EP) - The Artisan Guns

Having made a very bad first impression with Artisan Guns front-man Matthew Hope I knew that I owed it to them to pick up their EP Bird & Bone when it came out. The truth is that having seen them play a couple of times and having thought that they were pretty good really, I probably would have bought it anyway. (But that hardly makes for an interesting introduction does it?!)

So who are the Artisan Guns? They're a young and upcoming four-piece band who have sprung up out of East Auckland. They're country-alt-rock and the EP presents five very catchy songs, with tight harmonies that range from laid-back to more up-tempo rock numbers.

My personal favourite off the disc (and the current single) is Autumn for it's great sweeping vocals that show off Hope's gravely and aggressive instrument, while Tuesday Night is a great way to start the disc. Ballad of Red Man farewells us with one of their country influenced tracks.

I'm not a big fan of buying New Zealand music because it's New Zealand music, but this is a good first offering from the band and these guys could really go places. I really would recommend giving it a listen.

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3 1/2 Stars