‘Control’ commences with a beautifully delicate and twisting legato guitar line, at once both soulful and almost Country, and with a flourish that wouldn’t feel out of place in the ‘Young Guns’ soundtrack, before Ysabel Bain’s exquisite, tender-yet-smoky voice carries us into the soul of the first verse, rising with the cadence of the drums to a funky, soulful track. Characterised by the syncopated off-beat guitar and deep funk bass, ‘Control’ grooves and sashays its way out of the speakers, rising and falling between up-tempo R&B sexiness and that slower, perfectly flourished guitar-and-voice pairing.
And Bain really DOES have a voice; sonorous, mellow yet powerful, with the warmth of Gospel and Soul yet the raunchy edge of rock. Soaring and potent yet touching and beguiling all at once, ‘Control’ is the perfect taster for Ysabel Bain’s debut EP.
Filmed and recorded live at The Clarendon Centre, Ysabel’s “We Are” EP is available from the end of November. ‘Control’ is available on Soundcloud or via Ysabel’s Facebook page.
Review by Alex Holmes