Album Notes

AMERICANA UK - 7 out of 10.
THE LIST 4 out of 5
The God-Fearing Atheists debut album is Rustbelt Sun. The songs are a mixture of countryesque southern ballads and laid back rockers. For lovers of Whiskeytown's songcraft, The Jayhawks melodic sense, Green On Red's greasy rockness and the lyrical nous of early REM. Influenced by everything from The Clash to The Black Crowes, Neil Young to the Beggars Banquet-era Stones, The God-Fearing Atheists are a stirring combination of killer songs, energetic playing and evocative lyrics.
These 11 songs are for late nights, early mornings and mighty hangovers. We hope that they will soothe all of the above.
REVIEW 1.
"If REM had come from Glasgow......"
"I don't know what it is, but there's a certain asort of American-influenced music that Scottish bands seem to do so much better than their English equivalents, and the God-Fearing Atheists, albeit unsigned and having their album mixed in a studio improbably but perhaps appropriately named Middle Of Nowhere, have tapped into that rich vein of heritage to produce an album that stands foursquare in the road that leads to the REM/Jayhawks neck of the musical metropolis.Opening track, St Judes Parade is driven by acoustic guitar and Peter Lacey's early-Michael Stipe vocal, and as the verse cascades into the titular chorus we could be back in the days of "Murmur" if REM had come from Glasgow, not Georgia, as indeed we could be on a number of the following tracks. It's followed by the rather lovely "Breakdown", more acoustic guitars, lots of harmonies on the choruses and insanely catchy. Elsewhere, "Bellgrove Hotel" has that neil Young/Crazy Horse vibe, but a little less dirty and the guitar lines of "40 Days of Rain" are a joy, as in fact they are throughout the entire album. Main man and writer of all songs Peter Lacey has the knack of referencing his heroes while producing something new, rather as the Redlands Palomino Company do, albeit in a different vein. On "Some Letters Write Themselves" at one point he howls "Dont you get so sick of these blues?", a question to which, after listening to "Rustbelt Sun" there is only one possible answer. No."
Rating 7 out of 10
April 19th 2007, Jeremy Searle
www.americana-uk.com

REVIEW 2
"a gorgeous soundtrack to summer melancholy"
The List (Scotland)
"With 2 ex-punks, one indie boy and a drummer that plays jazz at tennis clubs (!)it was an obvious move to form an alt. country band together. Not only that, but a really quite good one - the Glaswegian God-Fearing Atheists are a fine addition to Scotland's ever-expanding repertoire of bands influenced by roots music from across the pond.
Singer Peter Lacey does a mean cross-atlantic drawl himself on more upbeat songs like "Breakdown" and "Mississippi", with a more melancholic harmonica and lap steel evident on "Yours Sincerely, 4AM". Like The Byrds filtered through a particularly pleasant strain of 80's AOR, God-Fearing Atheists provide a gorgeous soundtrack to summer melancholy."
David Pollok 4 out of 5.
www.list.co.uk