‘Beachcomber’s Windowsill? Didn’t that come out in May’ you say, and you’d be right. But seeing as good music doesn’t have a sale by date we thought now is as good a time as any to review the debut album from the Oxford folk four piece Stornoway.
The album begins with Stornoway‘s biggest hit to date ‘Zorbing’ which is a crisp and pleasant start to proceedings, it’s like a breath of fresh sea air on a summer's morning - really bracing. The simple but effective tune and evocative lyrics like ‘Conkers shining on the ground, the air is cooler and I feel like I’ve just started uni’ combine to create a real winner of a track.
This is followed by the equally enjoyable tracks ‘I Saw You Blink’ which is pastoral pop at its mellowest and ‘Fuel Up’ a lovely ditty about travel, growing older, and where home really lies which an uplifting chorus aided by rich organ tones.
‘The Coldharbour Road’ brings to mind the work of other masters of modern folk such as Patrick Wolf and fellow Oxford group Jonquil, particularly the use of strings and driving piano lines.
Sometimes folk album have a tendancy to drag a bit in the middle as the body’s natural ‘folk fatigue’ defence system kicks in but I didn’t really get that with this album. Numbers like ‘Boats and Train’ and ‘Here Comes the Blackout’ may be understated but they’re no less powerful, there’s also a warmth in Brian Briggs’ vocals which combines particularly well with the sparse orchestration on the album and particularly those tracks.
‘We are the battery human’ is a nice pleasant ditty accompanied by a well plucked banjo and recent single ‘Watching the Birds’ is a bit of an up-tempo folk-rock stomp which works really well amongst the slower numbers on the album.
One things you remember after listening to Stornoway are the lyrics which mix the language of the every day with imagery of a more sublime nature, perhaps this is because their lyrics are slightly better than contemporaries like Mumford and Sons.
As the album reaches its end the mood turns contemplative, particularly on ‘The End of the Movie‘ and the album closer ‘Long distance lullaby’ which is also low key but still delicate and poignant number
Beachcomber’s Windowsill is a pleasant and immensely satisfying listen which is perfect for bridging the gap between the last embers of summer and the start of early autumn and all it’s upheaval.
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