Fanfarlo at Central Presbyterian during SxSW 2009

You may remember my crush of a little band called Fanfarlo (myspace) out of England. I may have have mentioned them a few other times as well. Last week, their debut album, Reservoir, got released, though it’s still in limited quantities, it looks like.

What can I say about this band? Sitting somewhere between the sweet emotional pop songs of Belle & Sebastian and the crescendo-filled orchestrated rock songs of the Arcade Fire, the band makes fun but nuanced songs that are filled with hooks while managing to not be too saccharine. They also put on a great live show as evidenced by the last two SxSWs. This year they filled the Central Presbyterian Church with gorgeous songs.

Reservoir has a number of tracks from previous EPs and singles (including some that I raved about previously) as well as a few new songs. The older songs were rerecorded for this album so it has a consistent aesthetic to it. But enough from me, just check out these songs.

Fanfarlo – I’m a Pilot (mp3)

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Fanfarlo – Harold T. Wilkins or How To Wait a Very Long Time (mp3)

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In addition to their studio work, the band has done some great one-off acoustic sessions for various web sites. Check out both of these below. I love how well their sound translates into that setting.

Here’s “Harold T. Wilkins”:

And a number of songs in a garden:

Secret Garden Video Series: Fanfarlo (SXSW Edition) from hoovesontheturf on Vimeo.

Reservoir is available directly from the band, from Rough Trade and from iTunes. They have some live shows scheduled in the UK but unfortunately none in the US right now. Perhaps you’ll just have to go see them next SxSW.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 at 9:20 am Posted by adrian in blogs, mp3s, photos, video. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.