Album Review: Stornoway: Part Two

Tales From Terra Firma's first track, ‘You Take Me As I Am’, attacks like a wall of sound. It’s an unashamedly bold tribute to the transformative power of love. Describing singer Brian Briggs’ wedding, it carries the listener along on the uplifting and euphoric journey the couple take into married life. Lyrics like ‘you take me as I am and you turn me into someone / who could step right off this rock and fly out across the ocean’ and ‘you take me as I am, for all my faults and problems / and you build me to withstand every gust and every gale’ strike a chord that sends goosebumps up and down the skin. Themes of the wonder of nature continue into this album, but come with a much more mature and expansive sound. String, brass and an organ feature in the opener alone, with more musical experimentation peppered throughout the album as a whole.

As Steadman talked through the democratic writing process in our recent interview, he revealed that “with this album, Jon the keyboardist had a lot more input into the original writing side of things. His influences are quite folky, but there’s also a lot of Middle Eastern influence.” This can be heard on the single ‘Knock Me On The Head’ where Turkish instruments come into play. Brothers Rob and Oli also claim that their South African background is referenced “a hell of a lot”, while a pair of antique Bavarian spoons also feature in the single. “Yeah, my partner gave me those spoons,” laughs Rob. “I trained myself up to play that short solo on ‘Knock Me On The Head’, and there’s a lot of that on the album, lots of experimentation.”

In addition to creative experimentation, there’s also a more technical depth to the new work. ‘Knock Me On The Head’ shifts rapidly between time signatures, making this a  complicated and more complex and demanding piece in terms of percussion. Similarly ‘(A Belated) Invite to Eternity’ is another favourite of the drummer. Again, it swings through different time signatures, but this has a purpose, carrying the listener along a rollercoaster of different emotions.

The album flips joyously between playfulness, and sorrowful sincerity. More downtempo and morose offerings include the stunning ‘The Ones We Hurt The Most’, whose swelling strings, soaring melodies and heartbreaking lyrics make this a standout offering. One of the most moving and powerful tracks on the album, it is worth buying the album for this track alone.

‘November Song’ comes as a bit of a jarring jolt to the end of the album, after the swelling emotions and complex melodies that precede it. Humbler, simpler, and much more reminiscent of earlier Stornoway, this gentler soothing song reminds you of just how far the band have come.

The album is an accomplished work, well worth the three year wait. As Steadman explained, the band are perfectionists, hence the delay. “When you’re creating something, you want it to be absolutely perfect when other people experience it,” he explains. “The writing of the album actually started a few years back, with the lyrics and the original demos. We spent many many months in the studio, arranging the songs. We all have our opinions, and it does take a while to get it right.” And get it right they have.

Tales From Terra Firma is out now an available from amazon and via iTunes.

The album is also available at fairsharemusic here, where half of the cost of the album download will go to charity.