Thursday 14 March 2013

Farewell JR - Health

EP review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk


Following free download single 'Night Wolves' earlier this year, Anglo-Irish duo Farewell JR this week release its parent EP 'Health'. Much like that taster track, these six songs are carefully composed, fragile and full of emotion. It's as though they've combined post-rock with alt-folk and experimental Americana, despite of course, being from this side of the Atlantic. 'Night Wolves' remains the epitome of a slow-burning epic, rising from the gentlest of starts to a passion-fuelled ending. Although the rest of the EP would struggle to be described as highly varied, they do use these techniques in different ways to forge different emotions and enough of a diversity to keep you engaged.

It's the understated 'Sickness' that opens the EP, and as you can probably imagine, it's hardly a barrel of laughs, but the booming percussion and swirling choir of heavenly voices do bring a certain majesty to the song. 'A Thought, A Mind' tiptoes into action; it's almost as though Farewell JR are playing a game, trying to keep their cards close to their chest before the climactic unveiling of the winning hand. In this case it's strings and more of those booming drums that await. Music of this persuasion will inevitably draw comparisons to Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes et al, and 'Failure' is your best bet for that. The brief interlude, 'Interlude', is little more than that, before it gives way to the heartfelt, quivering finale of 'Sweet Elizabeth'. On this evidence Farewell JR are certainly in rude health.





Farewell JR's website

Stream the EP in full

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