Review of  "Mirrors Of The Past"    by Morris Bryant.

Four Stephens Records - 4 Stars

 On their second album, Springwood’s own Reluctants (also known as The Rels) brilliantly capture the overwhelming enjoyment one might witness at their live concerts – these guys just love to play.

 At first sounding uniquely Australian with perhaps a touch of gypsy influence on the opening track ‘Must Be Dreaming’, The Rels almost create a new genre for every song before the amazing acoustic track ‘Contemplating Running Amok’ completes the album.

 Drawing on influences of rock, blues, Celtic-folk, and incorporating a ‘mean little recorder’, didjeridu and 12-string guitar, Mirrors Of The Past is a tight, original release, both musically and lyrically, and no mean feat for an independently recorded and released album.

 From the amusing ‘Frankenstein’s Daughter’ to ‘By The Time’, which sounds much like the Rolling Stones with a didge, it soon becomes obvious on Mirrors Of The Past why these guys never cease to draw a crowd and will continue to play a major role in local music.

Interview between Morris, Ian and Steve.

MB: How would you describe your music?

ID: We came up with the genre of Celtic-blues with a didjeridu, or Celtic-F0lk, depending on who we’re trying to impress.

SS: The last gig we did at the Royal, it was huge – we put the ‘err’ in folk.

ID: We used to all play rock back in the 80’s and 90’s, now we’re trying to get away from that and experiment with different genres and have a lot of fun really!

 MB: What do you enjoy most about playing music in the Mountains?

ID: Berating Steve. It’s just good people, the crowd ain’t agro – people actually smile.

 MB: Are there any particular musicians in the Mountains you admire?

ID: Everyone except Steve.

SS: Doctor And The Badman are great, just real good fun.

 MB: Out of interest Ian, what is the effect you do on the recorder in the opening track, ‘Must Be Dreaming’?

ID: It’s imitating a cat with a purring sound that comes out like a trill.

 MB: What would be The Rels biggest musical achievement?

ID: The Metro of course, but just releasing two professional, factory-made albums is pretty great.

 MB: What inspires you to play music in the Mountains?

ID: Not Steve. Steve is writing the majority of the material, and it’s really good stuff, but don’t tell him I said that. What inspires you Steve?

SS: I really enjoy melodies, that’s what grabs me first of all. I like interesting stories; stories that have a twist.

ID: We put the twist in, doesn’t always have to be a knife, but we put a twist in. No one actually dies in our songs, Frankenstein’s daughter’s made of spare parts, but that’s ok.