Back in 2009 we were very excited about Stornoway. There were no shortage of acoustic bands but most of them were fairly plain. This group from Oxford released two stunning singles in 'Zorbing' and 'Unfaithful', both made our end of year tracks list. Anticipation for the album was high but when it arrived it was simply not bad. Nothing captured the magic of those two early singles, in fact 'Unfaithful' was inexplicably omitted altogether. It wasn't a bad album by any means, just a disappointment knowing what they were capable of. Now they're getting ready to release its follow-up in March which will be called 'Tales From Terra Firma'.
Could this finally see them fulfilling that potential by writing songs that were not simply good, songs that stood head and shoulders above their contemporaries? New single 'Knock me On The Head' is promising. Not quite the standard of those early songs but better than much of 'Beachcomber's Windowsill'. Again everything feels earthy (hence album the title) and that voice is still unique, but there is a touch of that magic creeping back into this song and it's enough to get us hoping they may live up to those expectations after all. Don't write Stornoway off as a mere footnote just yet.
Stornoway's website
'Tales From Terra Firma' will be available from March 11th on 4AD
Catch them live:
February 2013
8th - Trades Club, Hebden Bridge
9th - Arts Centre, Pocklington
10th - Westgarth SC, Middlesbrough
11th - Oran Mor, Glasgow
12th - The Sage, Gateshead
14th - Town Hall, Oxford
15th - Town Hall, Oxford
16th - Quarterhouse, Folkestone
18th - New Greenham Arts, Newbury
19th - Mr Kyps, Poole
20th - Arts Centre, Pontadawe
21st - New Slang @ McClusky's, Kingston
March
11th - Kazimier, Liverpool
12th - Band On The Wall, Manchester
13th - Cockpit, Leeds
15th - Open, Norwich
16th - Leadmill, Sheffield
17th - 53 Degrees, Preston
19th - Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth
20th - Concorde 2, Brighton
21st - Komedia, Bath
23rd - Assembly, Leamington Spa
24th - Arts Centre, Exeter
25th - Guildhall, Gloucester
27th - Forum, London
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