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Tuesday 11 February 2014

Album Review: Fanfarlo | Let's Go Extinct





01. Life in the Sky    02.Cell Song     03. Myth Of Myself (A Ruse to)      04. A Distance  
05. We’re the Future      06. Landlocked       07.Painting with Life  
08. Grey and Gold       09. The Beginning and the End      10. Let’s Go Extinct

I dare you to hit play on a Fanfarlo record of your choice and not want to dance like no one is watching. Go on, I dare you. Pretty hard huh. As a late comer to the camp, their 2012 sophomore album 'Rooms Filled With Light' made a profound impact on my life as their melodic sways of triumphant Orchestral-Pop turned frowns to smiles at any given opportunity. What was a chance discovery at a festival as I lay in the grass watching people swoon under the afternoon sun has become a part of an almost daily listening ritual as I search for some much needed warmth in my life (when will this weather end eh).

The London four-piece make a welcomed return in 2014 with their third studio record 'Let's Go Extinct' that looks set to even further expand their vast visionary. As they build on their previous successes from the onset you know the album's going to be something special, especially when you get stuck on the first track for 5 consecutive plays before proceeding on. Moving with the buoyancy one would expect from an opener of their calibre Life In The Sky presents an expansive sweeping motion to elegantly lead us in to their new and futuristic sound. Cell Song reads a similar story as clanging cow bells mix with flitting brass sections. And that's the thing with Fanfarlo, no stone is left unturned as they perfect even the minor of details.

Not ones afraid to get creative with recording concepts either Fanfarlo have become synonymous with playful instrumentation. From the sampled clock chimes and soaring string sections on Myth Of Myself (A Ruse to) to the shimmering synths and effervescent yearning from A Distance. The latter, taken from their most recent EP 'The Sea', saw the band toy with themes of evolution and that's exactly what we see here yet on a much grander scale. Creating light in the darkest of situations We're The Future delivers the kind of brilliance only true pioneers can master as Simon Balthazar's sweeping vocals get eaten up by towering twanging synths exerting enough energy to melt ice on snowcapped mountains. Meanwhile previously released single Landlocked wastes no time in turning up the danceable heat as the London group play true to the sound they've become so well known for over the years. With it fading out on a flurry of guitars Painting With Life introduces us to a disconsolate acapella. Probably the most orchestrated and composed track on the record it moves with a fine touch of class before switching tempo in the most wonderful of ways.

Elsewhere Grey and Gold takes things down a notch with a more reminiscent sound to their debut before The Beginning and the End sky rockets us back out of our atmosphere on a whole new wave of experimental greatness. As the album rounds up on it's title track Let's Go Extinct it's clear to see the band's ambitious efforts have most certainly paid off. Gorgeous in every sense of the word when the final notes chime you feel an empty loss as their warm embrace finally leaves your presence. The only logical thing to do here seems to hit play all over again and immerse yourself in their quixotic swaying harmonies once more.

'Let's Go Extinct'  is available to buy now. The band will play the following shows:

Live Dates
Feb 11th - London, UK - Village Underground 
Feb 12th - Brighton, UK - Green Door Store 
Feb 16th - Sevilla, Spain – Maladar 
Feb 17th - Madrid, Spain – But 
Feb 19th - Valencia, Spain - La Rambleta 
Feb 20th - Barcelona, Spain - Festival De Guitarra (Bikini) 
Feb 24th - Paris, France - La Maroquinerie 
Feb 25th - Amsterdam, Holland – Bitterzoet 
Feb 27th - Berlin, Germany - Bi Nuu 
Feb 28th - Munich, Germany – Ampere 
March 1st - Vienna, Austria – Flex 
March 3rd - Bologna, Italy – Locomotiv 
March 4th - Milan, Italy – Tunnel 
March 6th - Zurich, Switzerland - Rote Fabrik 
March 7th - Frankfurt, Germany - Das Bett 
March 8th - Brussels, Belgium - AB Club

f: www.facebook.com/fanfarlo

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