Hi Flyer - Here Comes The Sunshine (Reiker) By Steve Rudd

Having been masterfully engineered by Portishead bassist Jim Barr, this melodic Pop-Rock album comes from a young band from Bristol, with two of the members being brother and sister Henry and Elle Williams, who are backed up by Mike Edwards and Tom Raiff. All of the songs are easy listening mid-paced anthems, and any one of them could quite easily get into the Top 40 Pop chart given how melodic they are and how charming Elle's vocals prove to be.

The album kicks off with Open Your Heart, which is a lush little masterpiece, before Left Behind soothes the senses with its beautiful Keane-esque piano melody and lyrics that make this song something of an epic coming-of-age melodrama. Throughout, strong piano melodies are rife, as are catchy guitar riffs. Rock influences do edge into the fray on occasion, with To Be Me and Loves Confusions being two songs that are buoyed up by strong riffs. Still, such a rock edge is only ever of the soft-rock variety that would easily please fans of bands such as T'Pau - which, in truth, is no bad thing.

At their poppiest, Hi Flyer fleetingly sound like The Beautiful South, while the final track in Light At The End Of The Tunnel could be off a classic Fleetwood Mac album were we not to already know otherwise, as Elle's genuinely beautiful vocals bear much in common with the eloquent nature of Stevie Nicks' angelic singing voice. Hi Flyer, as well as unleashing quality in their work, don't mess around when it comes to quantity either.

They might only just have released this little wonder, but they've still somehow already written their second album. They literally don't waste time, and they sure as hell won't waste yours. www.hiflyerofficial.com www.myspace.com/hiflyerofficial Email jenni@quitegreat.co.uk. for more info

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Music News - Monday 27th March 06 - Bestfrontseat.com and Raw-UK - One small step in a Welly, one giant leap... 'Give It Some Welly' By Isabelle Tracy
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Music News - Shine On at Hull City Hall By Alex Firth
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