Tales From Terra Firma: Vinyl LP

Oxford indie-folk quartet Stornoway followed up their celebrated 2010 debut album, Beachcomber’s Windowsill, in 2013 with Tales From Terra Firma. Ten this year, Tales From Terra Firma is 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 foreach “tale” on the album, presenting a strip cartoon-like depiction of the adventures in the life of the main protagonist. 

Pressed on recycled black vinyl, in FSC-sourced card sleeves 

Tracklisting

A1. You Take Me as I Am
A2. Farewell Appalachia
A3. The Bigger Picture
A4. (A Belated) Invite to Eternity
B1. Hook, Line, Sinker
B2. Knock Me on the Head
B3. The Great Procrastinator
B4. The Ones We Hurt the Most
B5. November Song