Stornoway the band, comes from a non-coastal city of Oxford, but they've always evoked the spirit of the sea. An obvious clue starts with their name - a town in the Western Isles of Scotland, where timeless folk-infused pop songs of the Englishmen would be right at home as the unknown adventure constantly beckons in the periphery.
After charming the folks at the premiere indie label, 4AD, Stornoway released their debut LP, Beachcomber Windowsill in 2010. Led by ornithology scholar Brian Briggs, the lyrics were more like storytelling set to a music full of experimental acoustics - i.e. chopping vegetables on a cutting board. But the eccentric sonic forays were more like sprinkles on a frosted cake that was sweet without the detrimental calories.
Three years after the release of Beachcomber Windowsill, fans will be pleased to find the quartet continuing to embrace their idiosyncratic brand of folky tunes. Tales From Terra Firma is an album of a greater concept - sonically and visually, and showcases Stornoway as one tightly-knit band, where all four members play an integral part. In their genesis, Briggs and multi-instrumentalist, Jonathan Ouin brought in brothers Oli and Rob Steadman to fill out the part of bass and drums, respectively. Since then, the Steadmans have proven their skills to be multifaceted and far outweigh their pretty faces.
As fate would have it, Tales From Terra Firma has the release date of March 11 - the same day as the biggest comeback album of history by one of the biggest star on the planet. In their endearing way, Stornoway casts amusement via Facebook over the unavoidable overshadowing by Bowie, with what appears to be an intensive visual marketing of artworks inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Le Petit Prince in particular), lyrics, video, and even poking fun at The Next Day album cover.
Checkout the music video for “Knock Me On The Head” from Tales From Terra Firma below:
Stornoway will be sailing into North America in May to delight and captivate their audience, and Briggs will have you giggling with his whimsical yet highly informative banters.
5-01- Black Cat Backstage, Washington, DC
5-02 - Kungfu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA
5-03 - Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
5-05 - TT The Bear's Place, Cambridge, MA
5-06 - Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
5-07 - Il Motore, Montreal, QC
5-09 - Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, ON
5-10 - Beachland Tavern, Cleveland, OH
5-11 - Schubas, Chicago, IL
5-13 - 7th St. Entry, Minneapolis, MN
5-14 - The Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
5-15 - Hi Dive, Denver, CO
5-16 - Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
5-18 - Media Club, Vancouver, BC
5-19 - Lucky Bar, Victoria, BC
5-20 - The Crocodile, Seattle, WA
5-22 - Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR
5-24 - Brick & Mortar Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
5-25 - Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles, CA
Watch couple of live videos I shot the last time Stornoway came to Portland:
And a video interview I did with Brian and Jonathan the first time they came to Portland: