Fanfarlo - Reservoir

Amos Memon - drums & percussion, vocals
Cathy Lucas - violin, keys, mandolin, glock, vocals, musical saw
Justin Finch - bass, vocals
Leon Beckenham - trumpet, keyboards, glockenspiel, melodica, vocals
Simon Balthazar - vocals, guitar, keyboards, mandolin, saxophone, clarinet

Having some time to kill at Glastonbury this year, I happened upon The Queen’s Head stage to catch two bands that were totally new to me. The first made me want to rip my own arm off in order to have something to throw at their pompous front man. I won’t name names. Angry that I’d never get that time back, my mood soon changed as following them turned out to be Fanfarlo, a band that soon made me forget all about Detroit Social Club. Oh dear; I named names. Hey ho.

Similar to a mostly British Beirut (indie folk band, not Lebanese city) and led by the fantastically named Swede Simon Balthazar, Fanfarlo have sold out shows at ULU in London, supported Mumford and Sons on their UK tour and have had songs used in Grey’s Anatomy, House and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. But don’t worry; I don’t expect you to have heard of them. Their debut album, Reservoir, was released in February 2009 on the band’s own label, Rafflebat, and later in October the same year on Atlantic, and is an unrecognised record of stunning little anthems. Gentle and refreshingly unpretentious, Reservoir is confident indie-folk with enough subtlety and trepidation to keep it away from what I like to call the Mumford sort of brashness.

New single ‘Fire Escape’ is taken from Reservoir, was released on the 12th of July and sees Fanfarlo and pretty much the top of their game. Well-played but not over-used trumpet being always appreciated, ‘Fire Escape’ has the brass accompanied with the stirring lyric ‘why can’t they just think like us?’ With a bridge that builds to a soaring chorus, ‘Fire Escape’ is one of the best.

As is usually the case with pretty much all music with lyrics, the mood of a song and largely the style of the band as a whole can rely somewhat on the lead singer’s tone of voice. Balthazar’s melancholy and somewhat mournful vocals drape themselves all over the instrumentation perfectly. Occasionally slurring his words, Simon’s slight lack of enunciation does mean that it’s useful to have the lyric insert close at hand for the first few listens, but it’s easy to forgive because when you’ve got instrumentation pounding along that fast, it’s inevitable that the vocals running hand in hand will stumble.

‘If It Is Growing’ is another noteworthy album track. Stripped back to vocals and very gentle piano and drums, brass and violin being carefully added, it’s a comforting reminder that a good song doesn’t have to rely on a guitar. Following the lull of ‘If It Is Growing’ is ‘Harold T. Wilkins, Or How To Wait For A Very Long Time’, whilst being slightly annoyingly named, it features a strong bassline and once again, Simon’s vocals, edged with a sort of sadness, pull the track along by the wrist. A seemingly uplifting song, the cries of ‘we drive the same road’ and ‘instead of staying straight, turn the lights on again’ portray delicate frustration and exhaustion.

I think if I were to place Reservoir, I’d put it at the end of summer. This album would be perfect in the lazy British evening sun, when it’s still pleasantly warm but there’s a chill in the air that warns that it’s not going to last for much longer. Beautiful and unrestrained, Fanfarlo’s debut album is filled with an inoffensive convincing fragility that implores a listen.

By Rosie