Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

The Harmonica Movement are a four-piece band hailing from Peterhead in the North East of Scotland who, according to their website, "play loud songs about hope" - confusingly without a single harmonica in earshot. That briefest of bios almost sums up their debut album except to say that there's slightly more to it than that. The hope that the foursome sing about is of course the hope found through a relationship with Jesus Christ but it's expertly set to the backdrop of feelings of unworthiness, uncertainty and being lost in a way that betrays a maturity beyond the band's relative youth. Delightfully harking back to the sound of punk era guitar bands of old, the Movement are not afraid to turn the amps up and just go for it and what they deliver is a refreshingly raw and thundering set of songs that match the subject matter perfectly. Add to the mix vocalists Daniel Cox, Andrew Pirie and James Thain choosing to sing in their natural Scottish accents and this has the feel of a band refusing to conform to the norm. The title track, an abstract and angst-ridden adaptation of Psalm 70, is arguably the highlight but there's plenty of other treats on this promising debut.

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