Strawbs & Sherbs

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### **Strawbs – *Dragonfly* (1970)**  

Ah yes, *Dragonfly*, the sound of medieval peasants discovering LSD and deciding that lutes just don’t cut it anymore. A folk-rock fever dream where Dave Cousins warbles on about lost love and existential dread while a ghostly cello moans in the background like a Victorian child locked in an attic. It's fragile, wistful, and deeply British—the kind of thing you listen to while staring out a rain-streaked window, contemplating your own insignificance.  

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### **Sherbet – *Howzat* (1976)**  

Imagine a world where the Bee Gees never discovered falsetto and instead became the house band for an Australian roller rink. That’s *Howzat*, an album that makes up for its lack of depth with an overdose of polyester-clad enthusiasm. The title track? A smug, strutting earworm that makes you feel like you just won a cricket match (even if you don’t know a damn thing about cricket). It’s all sweet, fluffy glam-pop with a hint of sports-bar machismo—cheesy as hell, but undeniably catchy.  

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### **Strawbs – *Ghosts* (1975)**  

Prog-folk doom, like Genesis got lost in a fog-covered moor and was forced to jam their way out. It’s haunted, it’s dramatic, it’s theatrical in a way that suggests Dave Cousins may have actually made a deal with some minor demon for better songcraft. One moment, it’s all medieval ballads; the next, it’s hard-rock riffs and synthesizers kicking down the door. If you ever wanted an album that sounds like an Arthurian legend told by a particularly unhinged pub storyteller, here you go.  

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### **Sherbet – *Defying Gravity* (1979)**  

Sherbet goes full soft-rock, and you can practically hear them slipping on their finest satin tour jackets for this one. Everything’s smoother, shinier, and soaked in that late-’70s desperation to stay relevant as the yacht-rock wave approaches. Some moments still bop (*Free the People* has a punch), but mostly, this is the sound of a band staring at the disco ball and realizing their days are numbered. Not bad, but *Howzat* had more bite.  

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