Lisa Hannigan - Sea Sew
Adored by the Irish but barely heard of across the water, rising star Lisa Hannigan’s solo debut Sea Sew is surely set to steal our hearts. Applying the same folk-pop template as Laura Marling, Joanna Newsom and dozens of bright young things before them, Lisa makes ear-friendly clap-happy sounds with enough warmth and home-grown appeal to make you wish she was your friend.
Slinky opener Ocean And A Rock sets a comfortable tone with Lisa’s ethereal voice taking the reins as fiddles and bass bound around beneath her. Sitting prettily somewhere on the vast scale between Kate Bush and Kate Nash, this Damien Rice infused work of art shapes up quite nicely as one of the quirkiest debuts of 2009 so far.
Taking the tempo up just a notch, Sea Song sees the same attractive stencil laid down, but perhaps the pencil presses a little harder as horns and lower strings enter the mix and a lazy backbeat shuffles on. As the record progresses Lisa demonstrates an impressive range of moods, from the tired and dreamy jingle of quaintly titled Splishy Splashy to the bouncing hop-skip rhythm of delightful I Don’t Know.
Keep It All has Lisa’s breathy vocal reaching the visceral heights of Björk and PJ Harvey while still holding firmly onto her whimsical pop identity. Fans of Alessi’s Ark and Feist will giggle with joy as they’re taken on a flight of spiralling fancy through a mystical and enchanting realm, while those who usually opt for the gutsy and raw probably ought to look elsewhere.
The haunting wail of Courting Blues is neatly bookended by the light and entrancing Pistachio which again sees the real star of the show, Lisa’s mesmerising croon being played like an instrument in a heart-warming and texturally rich landscape of peace and tranquillity.
As Sea Sew draws to a close with its cutest track Lille, it’s quite obvious that Lisa Hannigan makes the kind of music perfect for a TV banking advert, or the fitting soundtrack to a Juno sequel. It’s a light-hearted fairytale that bears only occasional references to real life, taking the listener on a voyage of absolute whimsy and wonder.
Rating: 4/5
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Anthony Hill