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.

Okay. So we’ve been a little slack with the post writing of late (I wonder how many blog posts in the world have started with that sentiment?) so I’ve come up with a scheme to ensure more regualar posting.

What is this amazing scheme I hear you ask?

A series – that’s what. An ongoing series of posts about music that we’re currently listening to or finding inspiring. It might be because it has great production values, it could be the recording techniques used were particularly interesting, it might have been recorded at a particularly cool studio, it could be our friends, or it could just be a plain on great song that makes us remember that, at the end of the day, music has the power to change us and make us glad we’re alive.

Phew!

This first song in this never ending series is actually a bit of everything. It’s the opening (semi-title) track from Tunng’s new album called ‘…And Then We Saw Land’. The song is simply called ‘Land’.

There is a lot to like! Firslty, this is pretty much just a banging pop song. It rambles along with all kinds of musical instruments making an appearance including banjo which is probably the music buzz instrument of the moment. It’s got a kind of joyous carefree vibe that puts a smile on my beardy face and great pop hooks to sink your teeth into.

Audio production-wise I really like how different elements come and go from the mix/top of mind as you listen. All the instruments are almost painfully present and vie for attention. I think it’s this intense sense of presence (woah not a good turn of phrase if you have a lisp) that gives it that good-time-sing-a-long kind of feel. All the instruments are wonderfully recorded and this high production ethic shines through in the rest of the album too. Tunng are a collective of musicians (rather than a fixed band) somewhat like BSS and I think perhaps this eclectic approach to writing and recording means the there’s always lots going on, both instrumentally and vocally, but it works as a cohesive whole thanks to some very clever mixing.

Anyway, enough rambling. If you like it, go get it!