Oxford's Stornoway had, until rather recently, never visited the town on a remote Scottish island after which their band is named. Since they formed they've had a whole radio show dedicated to them, played Glastonbury's Pyramid stage and released a successful début in 'Beachcomber's Windowsill'.
2013 sees them release the follow-up, and the album opens with the joyous 'You Take Me As I Am', with it's refain 'If I were to die today/ then it wasn't all a waste', layers of brass and strange sounds coming together to create this brilliant song. Any preconceptions of comparisons with the awful Mumford & Sons can be discarded with this track, the music stands closer to the cult nu-folk bands Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Neutral Milk Hotel.
The slower, more acoustic-orientated 'Farewell Appalachia' and the slightly over-chirpy 'The Bigger Picture' follow before '(A Belated) Invite To Eternity' one of the other stand-outs of the album, where again there show their more adventurous, sonically lush and even post-rock influenced side.
The album is a bit of a mixed bag. At one end of the scale are the magnificent more adventurous tracks like 'Knock Me On The Head' and the others I mentioned, but some of the acoustic tracks appear much more tepid. Overall, it's a good effort but I can't help but think this album could have been much, much better.
Out of 10: 7/10
Written by - Connor Browne
Follow / [FACEBOOK]
Other / [OFFICIAL SITE]
2013 sees them release the follow-up, and the album opens with the joyous 'You Take Me As I Am', with it's refain 'If I were to die today/ then it wasn't all a waste', layers of brass and strange sounds coming together to create this brilliant song. Any preconceptions of comparisons with the awful Mumford & Sons can be discarded with this track, the music stands closer to the cult nu-folk bands Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and Neutral Milk Hotel.
The slower, more acoustic-orientated 'Farewell Appalachia' and the slightly over-chirpy 'The Bigger Picture' follow before '(A Belated) Invite To Eternity' one of the other stand-outs of the album, where again there show their more adventurous, sonically lush and even post-rock influenced side.
The album is a bit of a mixed bag. At one end of the scale are the magnificent more adventurous tracks like 'Knock Me On The Head' and the others I mentioned, but some of the acoustic tracks appear much more tepid. Overall, it's a good effort but I can't help but think this album could have been much, much better.
Out of 10: 7/10
Written by - Connor Browne
Follow / [FACEBOOK]
Other / [OFFICIAL SITE]
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