Manchester-based alt-rock trio
I Am Kloot's fifth long player is sentimental, elegant and drenched in booze, falling somewhere in between the autumnal twilight of
the Clientele and the streetlamp glow of
Richard Hawley.
Sky at Night unfolds over a rainy, world-weary United Kingdom, and vocalist/guitarist
John Bramwell, who delivers his lines with appropriate amounts of wit and worry, can sound like an English
Willie Nelson, especially on the pub torch song “To the Brink.” As fellow northern Englanders,
Elbow members
Guy Garvey and Craig Potter know the landscapes that
Bramwell and company draw their inspiration from, and the duo’s simple, reverb-heavy production work lends added weight to album highlights “Northern Skies” and “I Still Do,” resulting in a stormy, soulful and nuanced collection of late-night last spins that get better with each rotation. ~ James Christopher Monger