Customer Reviews
A downbeat listen - but lots of quality - By: Mr. Michael Magee, 20 Jan 2010 
I caught a track from these boys courtesy of Bob Harris some time ago, & thought it worth investing in.
I don't mind sticking thisin my player from time to time, butin truth this is a rather ordinary set of mournful break-up songs rendered unusual by the quality of the playing, & by the extraordinary delivery of the comatose singer who manages to rouse himself just enough to labour through these torpid dirges. Actually they're not that bad, but break-up songs usually become sweetly painful to the listener particularly if he/she can identify closely with the sentiment. That rarely happens here for me. Disaster is nice, Still Shaking has a very nice banjo rippling through it. The One You're Closest To is painfully slow - as is Anyone's Guess, & Bryn Mawr. I like Country Bar & Spain - slightly more lively. Southern Wedding? Not for me thanks, nor Watching Me Try.
A bit hit & miss then - but I can be lulled into listening right through the whole lot on a dark night drive. But please don't bother if you need to be uplifted
I do feel that they are talented performers - the playing might be compared even as high as with Counting Crows. Maybe someone should poke them with a sharp stick - prod them into life so that we can enjoy morein the mould of Queen South This is the only track on which they cut loose, & they sound real fine.
So come on boys - a bit more like that please.
Autumnal Sadness - By: Dylan35, 03 Jun 2005 
The best music can make your tummy flip, & make you ache for every lost love, missed opportunity, broken bottle & slammed door. It's rare that a band captures that perfect mix of loss, regret, wry charm, & autumnal melancholy. The Ashtray Hearts do itin style. Music has a long list of unsung bruised balladeers like Medicine Sunday, Sunhouse, Triffids, all of whom know the power of a quietly devastating three chord trick. As great musicians know, it's often what you leave out that counts. Spare acoustic guitar & banjo, muted horns, brushed drums, simple but packing a punch that tears your heart out. "Still Shaking", with it's picturesin dusty frames & backyard musings, is a masterpiece of loss. A sadly beautiful album, which will not find a huge audience, but will find the right one.
alternative country at its' best - By: justine king, 10 Sep 2003 
I'd heard this bandin session on the radio 2 show with bob harris one nightin my car, & literally had to pull over & turn it up! - it'd be easy to compare them to ryan adams & a million others, but wrong, as their sound is truly all their own, sure, there's a bit of jayhawks, even a little red house painters, & enough melancholy to sink a ship in, which is why i love them - the songs are almost short stories, each & every one about heartbreak & longing, & aching....not remotely happy, butin a good way of course! - this Cd is beautiful, & worth every penny...I dont claim to know too much about them, & i dont need to...the CD speaks for itself....
