Stornoway – I Saw You Blink

March 30, 2010

And Almost-All-Country Tuesday ends with what can only be described as the ‘almost’ bit…



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[5.67]

Martin Skidmore: If you’ve been thinking “I really miss James, but I wish they had emphasised their folky tendencies more”, you’re in luck. I had not been thinking that. This lot have stiffer singing and a weaker song. It’s hard to resist saying Stornaway are wet and windy — some bands ask for it.
[2]

Matt Cibula: Is this post-jangle? Am I insane for thinking that these guys might be the mutant cloned offspring of the Proclaimers? Is it okay if I like this a whole lot but would probably never really want to hear it again?
[6]

Ian Mathers: This is completely harmless, for better or worse. Mostly worse; it has all the emotional impact of a random Livejournal entry, and unless you really love the idea of a neutered Frightened Rabbit I don’t imagine the music will do much for you either.
[4]

Anthony Easton: I am a sucker for this kind of semi-folk indie nonsense, and the lack of propulsion in a song that is mostly about trains adds to the isolation and loneliness of it. There should be more songs about missing trains!
[8]

Chuck Eddy: A popwise brightness and remnants of ancient Anglo-folk melody coalesce into a reasonable Big Country facsimile on climactic notes, ensuring these buskers don’t come off absolutely wretched.
[6]

Michaelangelo Matos: At first I thought British Fleet Foxes, with a catch: not hippies. But that’s just the a cappella opener and the bursting harmonies of the chorus. This is folk-pop so bright and perky it can grate — the “mm-mm-mm” of the run-up to the refrain, for instance. It’s so polished it can seem merely calculating. The lyrics aren’t much. But damn if I can stop playing the thing.
[8]

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