Album Review : Fyfe Dangerfield - Fly Yellow Moon
- Written by Tom Collins
Former Mercury Music Prize nominee Fyfe Dangerfield will most notably be recognised for the sporadically charged folk tunes produced with initial band Guillemots, but January brings us his opening foray into the lonesome world of solo albums. Fly Yellow Moon is a charming and expressive catalogue of harmonious indie folk songs, impressively recorded in a creative whirlwind of just five days. This brief venture into the studio might suggest the album to be a collective of hurried, below par and dated songs, but instead we are treated to what could be one of 2010's truly great albums.
Fyfe, with two Guillemots albums under his belt, is already a heavy-weight in the UK's music industry but to most this debut solo effort has come as somewhat of a shock. With his initial band also having penned in a 2010 release for their third album it makes you realise what a hectic schedule this crooning folk artist must currently have.
Initial single 'She Needs Me', an inspiring soulful ditty that seems to gain vigour and momentum as each fascinating second ticks by, will precede the release of this album but it's the charismatic and buoyant choruses of 'When You Walk in the Room' that have the most impact.
Aside from the instantly recognisable 'singles' of the album, Fly Yellow Moon encompasses an assortment of trouble free acoustic creations, obvious examples being the solemn and poignant 'Don't Be Shy', and the uplifting creation that is 'Livewire'. Even the most musically ignorant of us will observe that these tracks are considerably under produced, perhaps the reason for the swift five day studio recording, but it is this effortless and unforced musicianship that gives motive for Fyfe's desire to construct an album to call his own.
Although entirely self penned, this collection of melodies does hold a remarkable amount of similarities in style to the previous releases from his original band. But that doesn't mean to say Fyfe is just carting out a catalogue of tracks deemed not worthy of the next Guillemots album, as instead of the erratic musical numbers you would expect from his initial band, this album takes a more melodic and mature stroll through your ears.
Fly Yellow Moon represents Fyfe Dangerfield's never ending ability to produce memorable lyrics and rousing melodies, but also symbolises the enormity of the task to top this creation should he ever again step unaccompanied into the studio.