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Fanfarlo - Reservoir
| Musicomh |
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Fanfarlo are a band whose poignant and majestic melodies have seen them sitting on the cusp of major accolade since the release of their debut single, Talking Backwards, in 2006. For whatever reason the whisperings of greatness that have since enveloped the band have yet proved to materialise. 2009, however, sees Fanfarlo's biggest chance yet to broadcast their enchanting folk pop to a wider audience, and take significant strides forward towards the sort of widespread recognition that is undoubtedly deserved. Those unfamiliar with Fanfarlo's rich instrumentation and intelligent arrangement will find a useful starting point with a studious glance towards the five-piece's list of influences, which includes Broken Social Scene, Pavement, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Other reference points unveiled by initial listens to Reservoir are Arcade Fire and the little-known Strange Death Of Liberal England....full text |
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| Nme |
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Pitched between Arcade Fire’s funereal art-rock and Beirut’s pastoral folk, but lacking the pomposity of the former and the pretentiousness of the latter, London-based collective Fanfarlo’s debut is a carefully orchestrated treat. The instrumentation is kitchen-sink; accordion, clarinet, glockenspiel mandolin, melodica, saw, sax, trumpet and violin, plus guitars, bass and drums. Simon Balthazar’s well-crafted songs, though, and the band’s knack of arranging them sensitively, ensures the mix never sounds cluttered or overblown. There are big pop moments here, too: string-swept album highlight ‘The Walls Are Coming Down’, new single ‘Drowning Men’ and ‘Fire Escape. If you’re waiting patiently for that new Grizzly Bear LP, take a dip....full text |
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| Popmatters |
| With summery abandon and plain-speaking folk-pop melancholy, Fanfarlo creates a debut so preoccupied with squeezing every drop of pop out of its tunes that it is difficult to imagine what a second record might involve. While Simon Aurell’s breathy swoons augment the brilliant ensemble charmingly, it is that brilliant ensemble that charms the most. If you can pluck a string, Fanfarlo can strike it with more intent. If you can draw a bow across a string, Fanfarlo can make it sing. The lilt of “Fire Escape” is damn near irresistible, but the opening plod of “I’m a Pilot” seals the deal. Reservoir is as fine a debut as you might hear all year, but while the band’s sheer happiness to be playing music is unutterably apparent and serves it well, where can it go from here? The idiosyncratic approach and the sense that literally all its hearts went into the record could make it a single triumph for Fanfarlo....full text |
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