Reviewed by Dougie Adam

This EP was put together to sell at the band's American concerts this autumn and contains six songs that are currently being worked on for next year's new album. The remaining two songs have been selected from 1993's 'Shekinah' EP and are now being released on CD for the first time. Most of the tracks are acoustic and the overall sound varies from pop to folk and back to rock again. Sonically, in places, it's a bit of a throwback to the days of Deacon Blue, Hipsway and the Silencers. Here and there it is possible to detect some rough edges that have been left on show, but on the whole this set is well written and recorded. "Vagabond Shoes" is an excellent opener, musically bright, with warm acoustic guitars to the fore, infectious ringing harmonica fills and a carefully crafted tune all serve to evoke memories of Eden Burning in their heyday. Elsewhere there are plenty of fine lyrics (eg, "Beautiful Creatures") and nifty guitar work ("Where Would I Be" for example) to make this a pleasant enough listen once you see past the rough edges. 'Cardboard House' doesn't quite hit the heights of its excellent predecessor 'Brave' but there are genuine signs in the demos and rough mixes here that the next Bogle Band album will have plenty of good material to justify asking you to part with your hard earned cash to get a copy. Roll on 1999!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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