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8 / 10 Pitched between Arcade Fire’s funereal art-rock and Beirut’s pastoral folk, but lacking the pomposity of the former and the pretentiousness of the latter, London-based collective Fanfarlo’s debut is
a carefully orchestrated treat. The instrumentation is kitchen-sink; accordion, clarinet, glockenspiel mandolin, melodica, saw, sax, trumpet and violin, plus guitars, bass and drums. Simon Balthazar’s well-crafted songs, though, and the band’s knack of arranging them sensitively, ensures the mix never sounds cluttered or overblown. There are big pop moments here, too: string-swept album highlight ‘The Walls Are Coming Down’, new single ‘Drowning Men’ and ‘Fire Escape. If you’re waiting patiently for that new Grizzly Bear LP, take a dip.

Rob Webb

More on this artist:
Fanfarlo NME Artist Page
Fanfarlo MySpace

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Date/Time	Venue	Town/City	Seetickets	Viagogo
Feb 22, 2012 19:30	Wardrobe	Leeds	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets from £8	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets
Feb 24, 2012 20:00	The Cluny	Newcastle	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets from £9	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets
Feb 25, 2012 20:00	Static Gallery. Roscoe Lane	Liverpool	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets from £8	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets
Feb 27, 2012 19:00	Thekla	Bristol	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets from £9	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets
Feb 29, 2012 20:00	The Blind Tiger Club	Brighton	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets from £8	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets
Mar 01, 2012 19:30	Scala	London	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets from £13	Buy Fanfarlo Tickets