Sonic Reverie

The first solo album proper from former Y’all is Fantasy Island frontman provides a rather different proposition than 2009’s low key release Awnings. The latter was wilfully avant-garde, a decidedly lo-fi maelstrom of purring vocal loops and mechanic samples which almost seemed engineered as a direct reaction to the effortless accessibility of YiFI. For me, it was an often misguided if admirably vast and playful collection of tracks, but it failed to capitalise on Stafford’s strengths as a songwriter. Thankfully then Build A Harbour Immediately manages to strike a perfect balance which will satisfy those looking for songs as well as those intrigued by his experimentations with form.

The best example of this balance comes from the fluttering feather like vocal loops of ‘Shot Down You Summer Wannabes’ which are the basis of the whole track and are then adorned with harder gritted teeth lead vocals. It’s not just a pointless exercise in excising instruments though; it’s a warm stuttering wall of neo-soul proclamations, the lead vocal swooning with purpose and feeling. Throughout the record it is Stafford’s voice which is his most potent tool really, something backed up by ‘Frederick Wiseman’, the other loops only number which is a no-tempo pop gem akin to the wavering epiphanies of Julianna Barwick.

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One of the most perenially undderrated bands in Scotland sadly decided to give up the ghost earlier this year. Despite self-releasing four albums which attracted a raft of critical acclaim, the Falkirk group still failed to capture any widespread attention and decided it was time to call it a day. Thankfully their body of brilliant work can live on though, as they’ve chosen to put their whole back catalgoue up for free download, through their own Wiseblood Industries label. This includes the albums In Faceless Towns Forever; Rescue Weekend; No Ceremony; a collection of soundtrack work, Infanticidal Genuflector; and a brand new collection of rarities and demos spanning 2001-2007. No two of which are particularly similar, and having everything bundled together like this really highlights the ecelcticism and adventurous nature which is the beating hear of the YiFI appeal, perhaps the thing I loved most about this band. This is a nature emphatically demonstrated by the new rarities collection, which spans a range of styles with ease and subtlety, from the longform noisy sparseness of tracks like ‘Gone Are The Days of Raymondo’ to the subtle electronic murmurings of ‘Our Friends in Heaven’ or muted folk on ‘Winter Arrangements…’ or sheer aural noise filth on ‘Western Surgeons’. You just never know what they’ll do next. Well, probably not much more now that they’ve split, but I would advise anyone with a penchant for clever experimental leaning folk rock to get themselves acquainted by grabbing the download here. If you want to hear a few tracks first then hit up Myspace. Meanwhile, for those already familiar, frontman Adam Stafford also has a new album ‘Build A Harbour Immediately’ due out in August, a few songs from which can be heard here.