Fairewell - Poor, Poor Grendel

Since the shoegaze revival began to rear its head during the middle of the last decade, Sonic Cathedral has been leading the charge. With this record by newest signings Fairewell, it seems to a certain extent that like a debt service they’ve tried to consolidate all of their existing bands into one manageable offering. Don’t let that put you off though; the strength of their output has always been its curated consistency, and this record is nothing if not consistent with the quality of the label’s other bands.

That said, while there are some fascinating touches – the record’s worth getting for ‘I’ve Been Locked Away’ and the introduction, ‘Grendel (Apocalyptic Visions) alone – there’s a lot here that will be familiar to fans of M83 or labelmates Team Ghost and Sad Day for Puppets. The more up-tempo tracks like ‘Others of Us’ and ‘Born Under a Bad Sign’ are a little less exciting, but frankly when you’ve got a track as great as ‘Honey Street’ on your album you can afford a couple of flops.

Stick to the swirling melancholy of Fairewell’s soundscapes then; put on repeat, close your eyes and enjoy ‘Poor, Poor Grendel’ as it was meant to be heard.