> Single review: Sister John – How Can I Keep it Alive - SNACK: Music, film, arts and culture magazine for Scotland

Single review: Sister John – How Can I Keep it Alive

The Glasgow-based four-piece return with new single ‘How Can I Keep It Alive’, a luxurious mix of trippy Americana and lo-fi authenticity. Sister John are adept at placing you into the flower power decade with absolute ease whilst maintaining a contemporary slant and, thankfully, ‘How Can I Keep it Alive’ continues in the same vein.

From its beginning, you are washed over with heavy-hearted yet soft-sounding lyrics, carried through expanding synths and rhythmic guitars, eventually to be released to a guitar solo fit for a convertible cruise along Route 66. This new addition of a synth throws in a welcome extra pinch of psychedelic flavour into the multi-instrumentalist melting pot of Amanda McKeown, Jonathan Lilley, Sophie Pragnell, and Heather Phillips.

The highly symphonious group routinely tug at a well-balanced mix of J.J. Cale and Kurt Vile-like guitars, which create a perfectly sweet-toned partner to Amanda’s timeless vocals. With the new album I Am By Day out in May, it’ll be interesting to see what’s in store from a band who clearly know how to consistently knock it out of the park.

‘How Can I Keep it Alive’ is out now via Late Night From Glasgow

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