It is something of a shame that Small Sips, the result of mixing two parts The Paradise Motel and one part Sodastream, turns out sounding a lot like Sodastream. That in itself is not a bad thing, because Sodastream is an amazing band, and 'The Morning Ripples' is every bit as good an album than 'Reservations', which Sodastream released earlier this year. But we still have Sodastream in the world, we still have those two fine gentlemen to counter our melancholy with their refined beauty. What the world lacks is the orchestral sparseness of The Paradise Motel, who released two albums and a handful of EPs before disbanding in 2000. That said, 'The Morning Ripples' is, as I believe I've mentioned, rather good.
A couple of little side comments: Karl Smith (the Sodastream component) has a fine and unique voice, but it is overused in relation to The Paradise Motel's Matthew Bailey, whose baritone is as dispirited as it is engaging. Also, Smith and Bailey seem to avoid harmonising, preferring to take turns, despite the fact that their hugely different voices would sound amazing together.
My life has been rather frantic lately and this record has been the soundtrack to those pesky things I get up to. Being now quite familiar with it, I can say it's painfully beautiful. Cowboys ("I might not have time to get my killing done") is splendid, the lengthy All Your Rages is superb (particularly with ninetynine's Laura MacFarlane providing vocal harmony) and closing track You Were Right is a heart-stopper. Some people refer to sadness as a blanket; with music like this, the sheath of sadness will dissipate into tiny snowdrops, from which unbridled joy can jump out and capture us all.
Ben Revi
It is something of a shame that Small Sips, the result of mixing two parts The Paradise Motel and one part Sodastream, turns out sounding a lot like Sodastream. That in itself is not a bad thing, because Sodastream is an amazing band, and 'The Morning Ripples' is every bit as good an album than 'Reservations', which Sodastream released earlier this year. But we still have Sodastream in the world, we still have those two fine gentlemen to counter our melancholy with their refined beauty. What the world lacks is the orchestral sparseness of The Paradise Motel, who released two albums and a handful of EPs before disbanding in 2000. That said, 'The Morning Ripples' is, as I believe I've mentioned, rather good. 
