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METRO - 15/1/2001: Much-touted London five piece Lincoln take their name from the character Lincoln Fargo in Sam Fuller's film adaptation of Jim Thompson's Heed the Thunder novel,whose turn-of-the-century Nebraska setting is the inspiration for their debut EP, Barcelona. Tapping into the same rich mythology of the American West that has nourished bands such as Calexico and Lambchop, Lincoln's detailed visualization of the landscape are definately in widescreen. Rather than depend on the pedal steel to evoke the dust and desolation of a border town, they use stately trombones, silken Fender Rhodes, violins, snare drums and unnerving sound affects to provide dense, atmosphere-saturated backdrops to their tales of paranoia and isolation. The title track is a lugubrious, windswept duet between Alex Gordon and guest vocalist Tracey Van Daal, while instrumental Snake Heads combines jittery drums and mariachi brass to convey the sound of a triumphant funeral march across the desert. Whether they can stretch a well-worn formula to fill an entire album remains to be seen; in the meantime it's a fabulous beginning. CLAIRE ALLFREE