Well it’s time for another post in our exciting new ‘What We’re Listening To‘ series (seriously, wow.).
Today’s wonderous new band is from Oxford, England, and are called Stornoway after the Hebridean town on the Isle of Lewis, which appears on all UK televised weather reports and shipping forecasts (apparently).
They have just released their debut album, Beachcomber’s Windowsill. On first listen I actually couldn’t stand the lead singers voice to be honest. It just seemed overly theatrical and forced! But, several listens later I keep on coming back for more. There’s something quite addictive about it.
The lead single and title track, Zorbing, has received quite a bit of play so I didn’t want to share that here. Instead I’ve chosen something at the more folky end of the spectrum – We Are The Battery Human, a sing-a-long anthem for the modern worker.
There is something really fantastic about the production on this album. It’s incredibly simple and stripped back through-out. Each instrument and voice is left space to breath. The music is often simply a platform for the lead singer’s incredible voice (not featured in the song above so much). The recording and mixing is pristine, a listen with headphones reveals a rich tapestry of detail hiding beneath the simple exterior. This extra detail is not more instruments or parts, it’s more like higher resolution. The closer you look/listen, the more you hear! It’s a relatively conservative mix and master (it’s positively quiet in the scheme of things) but it works brilliantly as a whole. It’s always a pleasure to listen to something that has been thoughtfully recorded to be sensitive to the songs and the band.
I highly recommend picking up a copy of the album. I’ve been biking and walking around on cold winter days listening to it and it is just the perfect accompaniment for the weather we’ve been having. Despite being from Oxford there is something about this album that wouldn’t be at all out of place in a weather-beaten cottage on the outer Hebrides or, for that matter, in a frosty New Zealand outpost town.