Track: The Ratells -Cold Waters (free downloads)

I love getting something for free. Especially when its good. At various points in everyone’s life you get those occasions when luck smiles on you and something comes your way. It’s even better when it’s not expected. Like the time a friend of mine gave me a box of (with one or two exceptions) great records, or when the bloke round the corner from ours took me to football (although that could have been when my Dad fixed his car, so maybe not strictly free) or someone I worked with gave me a Sofa when I bought my first house.

Although maybe not as important as the Sofa was at the time to me, but the latest free unexpected delight comes courtesy of Sheffield four piece The Ratells. These lads have been working hard, playing anywhere and everywhere (Train stations and Trams as well as the usual non transport based venues) building up a following and self releasing a batch of stuff along the way.

Their latest release is an acoustic version of a song called Cold Water. It’s an acoustic version, carrying on from their epic sounding indie-rock that best showed up on the wonderous Legacy, the track that really brought them to the attention of talent spotters everywhere – a rollercoaster of emotions and riffs and guitar work. Despite not having the full band to drive the track on and exert the emotional quality of it perhaps as intended, it instead showed off their increasingly accomplished songwriting, as well as harmony vocals and an accompaniment that blended everything together over Ash Hollands charismatic vocals. If its possible to be charmed by slightly bleak sounding music, I think I just was.

The Ratells – Legacy

It looks as if there will be a ‘full’ release of the track in the summer, so to tide you over, get to their bandcamp page and get it now, gratis. You could do yourself a favour, and get hold of the fantastic Legacy by signing up at their website, where you can take that away for nothing as well. It may not be a Sofa, but it’s not far off.

If you like what you hear (come on, whats not to like, right?) you can catch them out and about as we speak, at these places –