Tales from Terra Firma

Oxford indie-folk quartet Stornoway followed up their celebrated 2010 debut album, 'Beachcomber's Windowsill', in 2013 with 'Tales From Terra Firma', an album of stories - birth, death, marriage and coming of age. Featuring the singles 'The Bigger Picture' and 'Farewell Appalachia', it was recorded and produced by the band in the main at their own Oxford space, bringing in mix engineer George Shilling (having loved his work with Teenage Fanclub, a huge influence on them) midway to help them achieve their vision. It worked too. By being true to themselves and remaining oblivious to outside influences, they made a truly special album where life is unfurled for the listener. The Guardian said in their full marks review that there's 'no curse of the second album for Stornoway, who've stretched out without losing sight of the intimacy of their charming debut'. For its sleeve, the band worked with the artist Kirini Kopcke who used fragments of lyrics as her start point to create a picture for each 'tale' on the album, presenting a strip cartoon-like depiction of the adventures in the life of the main protagonist.