An impressive solo debut
Guillemots singer Fyfe Dangerfield is starting his New Year triumphantly with the release of his debut solo album, ‘Fly Yellow Moon’ which boasts an abundance of bright tunes with charm and honesty.
‘When You Walk In The Room’ is as upbeat opener as you could ever hope for, with a glorious chorus of “I want you endlessly” and a sweet, shuffling indie melody. The majority of the album is imbued with a real sense of movement; the soft psychedelic harmonies representing the background whooshing past Dangerfield as he rides high on positivity. ‘High on the Tide’ glistens with merriment from chirpy whistling to the giddy strumming of the guitar. ‘So Brand New’ has the ebuillent harmonies of an insouciant Beach Boys with a more calming air and a tense percussive rhythm that props up the glassy, uplifting vocals.
Smooth and buoyant tunes are not Dangerfield’s only talent; ‘Faster Than The Setting Sun’ offers a more visceral pleasure with a cacophony of instruments swelling the beautiful and gleeful tune with every note dripping with enthusiastic keys, whooping vocal melodies and bright brass licks. “No they don’t slow dance round here no more,” cries Dangerfield on one of the album’s real standout tracks with a power and eclectic energy to rival the crescendos on tunes like Arcade Fire’s ‘Wake Up’.
‘Live Wire’ is a gentle and touching ballad with a soft touch of sparkling keys in addition to a warm and welcoming acoustic guitar backing. ‘Firebird’ continues the introspective element of the album with an edgy and melancholy tune led by the haunting refrain, “on a bicycle made for two”. This unsettling little tune proves itself to be another of ‘Fly Yellow Moon’s real gems.
While his work with Guillemots was decidedly eclectic and often a little nauseatingly happy or twee, ‘Fly Yellow Moon’ shows a more personal side of Fyfe Dangerfield with meaning suddenly seeping into even the brightest and most abstract numbers. Where Guillemots were producing perfect pop vignettes, Fyfe Dangerfield does so with a mastery and honesty that takes his work to a new level.