Album , Solas

Admiral Fallow: Boots Met My Face

It may seem strange to review an album on the day that the follow-up record is released, but we've only recently got hold of Admiral Fallow's debut and aren't really ready to move on to the sophomore.

Boots Met My Face has been on near constant rotation in our house since we picked it up a month or so ago. I first came across the band after seeing front-man Louis Abbot duet with Rachel Sermanni in a video shot at Cambridge Folk Festival (or better, a reprise on Brighton Pier). Half the band formed the back line of Rachel's band when we saw her at the Union Chapel in January.

But still I'd not actually listened to their material. Not until Solas booked them for next month's festival.

Boots Met My Face is full of luscious melodies and charming instrumentation (flute and clarinet on a pop record?), it's the album I would have wanted to record as a student were I so talented (and Scottish).

The world of the songs reminds me of those days too, with tales of leaving home and wondering about the future of friendships. It's a place where time is measured by counting discarded light-bulbs, where every street contributed to your character.

Stand-out tracks are the first three: Dead Against Smoking, Squealing Pigs and Subbuteo, as well as Four Bulbs and Taste the Coast towards the end of the album. Any record with five stand-out tracks has to be a good thing.

I hear this album's been slow-burning for two years now. I can't wait to see some of it live at Solas, and really look forward to getting into the follow-up.