Album of the year: Fanfarlo- Reservoir

Big surprise right?! When I think about 2009 I'll think of them. Here are some of outroversion's testemonial's from the past year-

"Dreampop, it's one of those abstract nondescript genres that still seems to fit some bands perfectly, this is one. Great for the summer, they're a mixture between the floatysunshinecatchiness of empire of the sun and the rhythmic intrumentation consciousness of an arcade fire. I really like these guys, they are probably the band that i've been most excited to discover in this blog, they really make stunning music. In the trunk is when it really struck me. Unbelievably endorphene inducing" ~ Outroversion, 25th March 2009

"YEEAAAHH!!! I know i've gone on and on about fanfarlo but I think they're going to be massive. I'm seeing them in a couple of weeks, the night before I leave for france. This track emphasises all they're great for; haunting backing, deep bass, high strings, introspective lyrics, hopeful sounding vocals with intense lyrics. So glad I found this band. "If you look at the horizon there is always something ducking out of sight" I wrote fucking the first time I wrote that :)" ~ Outroversion, 15th May 2009



Fanfarlo- Reservoir (2009)

The review

Before listening to this album the first thing I noticed was that standout track from the demo cd "you are one of the few outsiders that understand us" isn't included but then neither is "in the trunk**" which were the first two tracks I heard by them and what hooked me in. Well it's 9 months later and every single track from the album has 4 stars or higher on my ipod so that pretty much speaks for itself...

"I am a pilot" is a heavenly track, starts the album off perfectly, and purposefully. The strings are magnificent and add a haunting atmosphere to the dark lyrics which are masked by an upbeat tempo and clapped beats which underly the piano perfectly. Part of what sounds like percussion is actually a lot of people playing the same part on guitars.

I didn't really notice until I saw them live but Cathy underscores alot of Simon Balthazar's vocals on the album and once you listen out for her you'll fall in love with her-



The similarities and indeed comparison musically to arcade fire are both obvious and unignorable. The strings and brass heavy tunes, where the flowing vocals and harmonies maybe owe a little more to Beirut but in my opinion they do both better than either band can because it really seems like the entire band has a common goal as each track builds and support each other well. Like sometimes you don't care about the other members of the band but each member of Fanfarlo is integral to the scenes they create.

After the first 6 listens to the album I considered it a consistant and not overly ambitious debut, which was by no means a bad thing, they just know what they're good at and what they can pull off live and have aimed at hitting those highs first.

For the generation that can't listen to an entire album you simply have to hear the walls are coming down, finish line and fire escape. For those that can you've probably already got this and made it your album of the year, if not, do yourself a huge favour and invest your time in this band. They tour relentlessly and will no doubt be playing within your vacinity in 2010.

**If anyone has an mp3 of this I would be eternally greatful if you could send it my way