Album Review: Gabby Young and Other Animals (Re-release)

Reviewed by: Jonathan Campbell

Skiddle rating: 5/5

If you went down to the woods today, I wouldn't be surprised if you found Gabby Young and Other Animals providing musical entertainment for their fellow creatures.  

Either that or they'll be breaking bread with their woodland brethren.  

Gabby is the leader, or at least lead singer, of this vibrant new musical ensemble who created enough of a stir with their debut album We're All in this Together last year to have secured a major record label deal and subsequent re-branded, re-packaged version of their eponymous album due for release next month.   

Having missed the boat first time round, I'm delighted to have got on board Gabby and her animal friend’s good ship as they set sail on a musical journey encompassing more ideas and genres than you could shake a bally stick at.  

Incorporating a bewildering array of instruments ranging from the traditional to the unexpected, We're All in this Together effortlessly shifts between gypsy folk and Gatsby inspired swing via smoke filled blues numbers and Caribbean tinged ballads.  

I guess musical eclecticism is a natural by product when your band counts eight regular performers amongst its ranks. But, as many a chef will tell you, sheer weight of numbers isn’t necessarily a recipe for success.  

So it’s refreshing to discover Gabby and her animals don’t spoil their broth.  

Quite apart from pulling off most every musical genre they turn their collective hand to, We're All in this Together does it with such joie de vivre that you can't help but get swept away with its infectious energy and musical ambition.  

It’s just great fun to listen to the ensemble’s musical adventure and makes me wonder how fantastical a live show from Gabby Young and Other Animals would be. 

Perhaps this clarity of direction, as their name would suggest, stems from Gabby Young conducting this particular show.  

Her vocals are a fitting match for the musical diversity on offer throughout We're All in this Together, demonstrating her versatility through a range of singing styles that change course to suit whatever sonic canvas the other animals create.  

There seems to be a genuine theatricality about the group too, aptly illustrated by the striking image of Mademoiselle Young on the album cover. Less is definitely not more for this girl, as Gabby’s flame red hair is adorned with enough accessories to make an overly elaborate centrepiece blush. 

With candelabras, rocking chairs, decorative jewellery and the merest hint of a horn section all vying for attention atop her head, it seems Gabby found a creative use for the contents of last year’s Christmas’s stocking. 

Yet, strange as this may sound, this image never feels insincere. Unlike the cynical, focused group, faux kookiness of modern contemporaries such as Paloma Faith or Lady Gaga, Gabby Young comes across as a genuine artist in both deed and appearance. 

As with anything experimental, not every song on We're All in this Together works. But that’s the risk you take when following your own muse. Besides, the sheer scale of musical ambition and execution displayed more than makes up for any wrong steps on the album. 

So why not picnic with Gabby Young and Other Animal’s this Summer. You’re sure of a pleasant surprise.