ARTIST: Guillemots
TITLE: From The Cliffs
LABEL: Fantastic Plastic
GENRE: Alternative
BITRATE: 188kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 40min total
RELEASE DATE: 2006-03-14
RIP DATE: 2006-03-01
Track List
----------
01. Sake 0:39
02. Trains To Brazil 4:03
03. Made Up Lovesong #43 3:34
04. Over The Stairs 9:02
05. Who Left The Lights Off, Baby? 5:02
06. Cats Eyes 6:44
07. Go Away 7:46
08. My Chosen One 3:13
Release Notes:
In case you weren't aware, guillemots are actually a breed of cliff-dwelling short
winged birds and not some fancy French aristocratic family name. So now you know.
The band Guillemots, however, are neither French, short-winged, nor birds. Well,
there's one bird in the London-based four piece, if you will. Sorry. Ahem. This
release is a compilation of their reasonably-hard-to-find first two EPs, I Saw
Such Things In My Sleep and Trains To Brazil, and it's emphatically the latter
that sparkles here. Always in danger of slipping into mediocrity, Guillemots fully
display a perilous inclination for hit-and-miss moments on For The Cliffs.
However, it's their oddball lyrics, offbeat arrangements and clever use of samples
and effects that ultimately save them from the cesspit of bland bands. The first
three tracks in particular are immediately charming; Trains To Brazil could and
should be both a hit and a summer pop anthem, and Fyfe Dangerfield's soaring
vocals on the enchanting Made Up Love Song #43 elevate them above anything any
similar band are peddling at present. It's clear from tracks like the Zutons-esque
reggae vibes of Go Away, or the several Dexys-like horn sections throughout that
Guillemots are a band with an eclectic palate. However, they stumble on the latter
tracks (i.e. the ISSTIMS EP), a cluster of over-long and tedious ballads (Cats
Eyes, Over The Stairs) that would be at home in the larynx of someone like - dare
I say it - Damien Rice or - shudder, spit, sign of the cross etc - Jamie Cullum. A
real pity, considering the potential for experimentation and innovation displayed
on the more uptempo tracks. However, this album must be judged on what it is
alone; merely a collection of two detached and very different EPs. Not a bad start
for Guillemots, and certainly a tasty appetiser for their debut album proper.