Strangefruit - Sea Of Fog

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk

I suppose that naming yourselves after one of the most poignant and important songs in history instantly gives you a lot to live up to. Perhaps they'd have been better off calling themselves Mistletoe & Wine, that way they couldn't fail. But Strangefruit it is for this London quartet, and of course their new single isn't a patch on Billie Holiday's classic, but then not much is. 'Sea Of Fog' doesn't have any kind of political message that we can see, but it's a complex and accomplished piece nonetheless. To give you some idea of the background, some members of Srangefruit were in celebrated jazzy experimentalists Polar Bear, and if you don't know them, see if there are any live clips on YouTube. They were quite something.

'Sea Of Fog' barely compares style-wise to that band, instead it plucks bits from all over the place and pieces them together into a grand and incredibly well thought out song. All of which is irrelevant if it sounds like a load of old tripe. But it doesn't, this is pretty awesome. Loosely an alt-rock song, it has more depth that much music that would carry that name. The vocals are strong and are really the focal point of the song, so having a great range really helps. Musically it's anything but straightforward, taking you on a journey with an occasional folk influence, the cinematic grandeur of Anna Calvi and a hugely powerful instrumental section that knocks your socks off. It may not go down in history like te song they chose as their moniker, but it's good enough not to tarnish it.





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