Track Listing

1. Tie Up My Hands
2. Poor Misguided Fool
3. Alcoholic
4. Lullaby
5. Way To Fall
6. Fever
7. She Just Wept
8. Talk Her Down
9. Love Is Here
10. Good Souls
11. Coming Down

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7120 in Music
• Released on: 2001-10-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Although Love Is Here, Starsailor's anxious, soulful folk and urban blues nuanced inaugural album will be less of a culture shock to any scene-follower who experienced, say, Tom McRae's debut from 2000, it will certainly jolt the core beliefs and common cultural values of the British indie scene. Nothing about Starsailor is remotely alternative--at least not in the conventional interpretation of the word--nor perfunctorily fashionable or juvenescent. Cool dads will appreciate them every bit as much as the hip kids. After all, not only is tender-aged singer James Walsh proud to admit to being influenced by Van Morrison and Tim Buckley--blimey, it's like punk never happened--he is also gifted with a larynx as gnarled, emotionally articulate and demonstratively tremulous as the all-time great and latterly underrated Roger Chapman. Debut or no debut, Love Is Here is an assured classic, the exposition of impending mid-life crises and buttoned-up desperation (typical lyric: "I need to be alone while I suffer") conveyed through an impassioned and distinctly non-rock lexicon of shuffling jazz percussion, metronomic acoustic guitars and keyboards which veer--Ray Manzarek style--between decorative cocktail piano and ice rink organ (courtesy of former crematorium organist Barry Westhead). The gooseflesh frisson of "Tie Up My Hands" and "Poor Misguided Fool" is palpable, the taut, dispirited burnout of "Fever" and "Talk Her Down" fantastically lucid. Are Starsailor the future of British pop? Let's bloody hope so. --Kevin Maidment

CD Description
Debut album from the Wigan based indie quartet. It featuresthe singles 'Fever', 'Alcoholic' and 'Good Souls'. Their work has been compared to that of The Verve and Jeff Buckley.

Customer Reviews

Excellent, excellent excellent!!!
This is an amazing debut album from exciting new talent Starsailor. James Walsh and co are a blend of indie and folk with a pinch of rock and boy does it work. With heart renching lyrics, each track left me breathless as I stuck the album on repeat on my CD player. I had originally bought the album after hearing the delights of 'Good Souls' and then 'Alcoholic', both of which remain strong favourites of mine. Other highlights include 'Poor Misguided Fool' and 'Way to Fall' which leaves you awe-struck. The lyrics are at points painfull and sorrow-filled but there is no doubt whether this music will penetrate you, leaving you with that 'wow' feeling that only good music can. Buy this album immediately, don't even hesitate, it is an essential addition to your collection!

QUALITY DEBUT
From start to finish, this is a flawless album. I didn't really know much about their music until Turkish radio picked up on 'Poor Misguided Fool', and the song could be heard everywhere! And what a great song it is, with its addictive chorus and piano hook. There is no filler on this album and it's impossible to pick fault with it - great instrument playing, lyrics that make sense and quality vocals. I have read some reviews complaining about the vocals, but in my opinion they compliment the songs perfectly.

Starsailor are often put in the same bracket as Coldplay, but the only real comparison is that they both have names derived from two words to make one word...! Seriously, there are obvious comparisons, but this is a superior effort than Coldplay's debut, Parachutes. I guess the only reason that Coldplay conquered the world is because they had 'Yellow'.

This will in time be regarded as one of the classics of the 00's (along with Doves 'Lost Souls' and Wilco's stunning 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' - If you like this, you may like those two as well).

A shock to the system
Finally, an albun that really makes you sit up and take notice. Starsailor are a relatively new band, but their debut album is incredible. All 11 tracks are brilliantly executed, and that mixture of acoustic and organ is amazingly soulful. 'Lullaby' is lilting and bordering on the insane - crazy and passionate - whilst 'Alcoholic' has a marvellously grim feel to it. But the gem in this album has to be 'She Just Wept,' a slow, sad, acoustic song, with a dull drum in the background that seems to go straight through your soul ... I know I'm ranting, but trust me, all in good reason.