Named after an island off the very north coast of Scotland, Oxford’s Stornoway would naturally traffic in natural sounds, but what’s surprising is that they can mix between loss and upbeat. This continues with their third full-length, Bonxie.
From the natural harmonies of opener “Between the Saltmarsh and the Sea” to the seagull cries that close closer “Love Song of the Beta Male”, Bonxie is an album of the outdoors (even when the synths come in on “Get Low”). It’s also one that shifts between true uplift, like on “Saltmarsh”, “Low”, more-than-a-ditty “Lost Youth”, and catchy uplift-dance “When You’re Feeling Gentle”, and the sadder effects on “The Road You Didn’t Take” or “Heart of the Great Alone”.
Sometimes Stornoway can do too much (like the slightly too grand “Man On Wire”) or be too pretty (such as “We Were Giants”), but they’ve got a strong style all their own.
Stornoway – When You're Feeling Gentle
