London quintet Fanfarlo have certainly been busy what with the completion of their first US tour in December, live performances on Letterman and Carson Daly, a slew of shows at SXSW (the band's third time at the festival), signing to a major record label, and going on another US tour (with a brief sojourn to Toronto) before playing at Bonnaroo in June. Fanfarlo's been getting a tremendous amount of buzz and it's not hard to see why. Their debut album Reservoir is filled to the brim with intelligent and charming indie pop. The smart lyrics are far from pretentious however grounded by storytelling prowess that makes them relatable as well as enjoyable. Beginning with lead track "I'm A Pilot" starts with claps, stomps, and drums which contrast the soft pleasing tenor of lead singer Simon Balthazar. "Ghosts" whose lyrics the album gets its name, trades in the bombastic percussive efforts for a busy violin intro before setting into a foot tapping pace where you get to hear each band member playing their "designated" instruments: trumpet, guitar, bass, drums, and violin. "Luna" ups the energy while maintaining the steady drumbeat that was present in the previous songs throwing in a clarinet for additional spice. "Comets" proves that you don't need technology to create atmosphere with creepy effects all provided acoustically by backing vocals, saw, and melodica. "Drowning Men" is about feeling trapped in a small town and is aided by dream-like, almost nonsensical lyrics and contains the almost tongue in cheek lyrics "We can still afford to not make sense at all". At times driving, some times laid back and sentimental, the track is definitely one of my favorites. "If It Is Growing" is the slowest track on the album and does exactly that, starting out with two notes played consecutively on piano and slowly adding more instruments on top of the simple ostinato. First single "Harold T. Wilkins" brings the energy up and adds a mandolin into the groups ever growing collection of instruments. It's based off of real life British journalist who wrote extensively about flying saucers. The song tells a story about someone who feels out of place waiting for aliens to come take them where they think they belong.
The album is an exercise in ebb and flow, coming from nothing in "I'm A Pilot" and building throughout before fading out into nothing with instrumental track "Good Morning Midnight". It deserves a place in any music lovers library where it will probably endure extensive listening.
Enjoy the video for "The Walls Are Coming Down" which was released before the band signed to Atlantic Records. It features escapologist Ros Walker:
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