I’ve been lucky enough to review Stornoway on a few occasions, but even luckier to have done so in some incredible settings, and with their recent Sheldonian gig that bar was raised even higher. For a band that formed in and still means so much to the city of Oxford, few locations would be more special for an album launch. Let alone an album the band describes as “their most ambitious work yet.” So as the hall lit up, and the crowds drifted in, it’s safe to say there was a palpable anticipation in the air.
Positioned at the back of the university’s 17th-century ceremonial hall, I had the perfect view to take in my surroundings as we waited for proceedings to begin. It was a setting that cocooned the stage, nestling the band into its centre with a natural gravity. Then, between the intimate audience before them and the towering choir rising behind, the band entered, a roar of applause greeting them as they tuned and plucked their way into the opening song, ‘Marco Polo’.
As the lead single from new album ‘Beyonder’, its galloping rhythm opened the night with a bang, setting the perfect tone to “sail into the ocean of your mind”, as Brian himself sang. It was a feeling that only melted into the following ‘Farewell Appalachia’, filling the space around us with a warmth, full of imagination and tenderness. Then, to complete the opening trio, came ‘Fuel Up’, a modern masterpiece of nostalgia.
With each song Stornoway settled in further, their sound becoming smoother, moulding into the hall around them. The next song though, was by singer Brian’s own admission, one the band had only finished re-learning days before. “Raw, stripped down and rough round the edges,” Stornoway introduced ‘Fire and Water’ from the new album, as a tale of love’s harder side and as it built through each lyric, the audience became gripped by its ebb and flow.
Then, just as the audience found themselves at the edge of their seats, a wave of voices rose behind the band. Josephine has always been a special song for Stornoway but after a cover from their beloved Ladysmith Black Mambazo, it has been reborn in a sense. After travelling to re-record the song with the acclaimed South African choral group, the band have thrown themselves into the power of collective song.
The result, the River of Voices Choir, a scratch group, debuted earlier this year at the Royal Albert Hall. Its ever-evolving make-up holds the unifying power of music at its heart, and even on this night in Oxford, the band had held a workshop to allow others to join before the performance. Now was its time and from the first chord, the return of Josephine left an audience dwarfed by the near 400 strong choir in awe.
The new album may have started in St Kilda, a “very wild place” in Brian’s own words but it was comfortably finding its feet here in Oxford. So it was only fitting that the next tribute be to another local legend as Stornoway delivered a cover of ‘Leave your Light On’ by The Epstein. Then, somehow another, but this time just a quick Happy Birthday interlude to audience member Mark.
It’s powerful how a band can give back to those around them so effortlessly, but Stornoway does it with ease. So when Brian delivers an anecdote about his boy inspiring ‘Dig the Mountain’ on a beach-side walk, it no longer feels like we’re sitting in a several hundred year old ceremonial hall,
but instead on that very walk with him. So as the band reflects on the dream that has become a reality, the penultimate song at the Sheldonian arrives in power.
“Collective singing is the ultimate form of connection,” as they have repeatedly told us throughout the night, but this time it feels more tangible than ever, the calm ferocity of choir master Ben’s direction coalescing with voices around the hall. So as the band slipped into Zorbing, the song that for so many began it all, you couldn’t help but smile.
As the final notes echoed around, it was hardly surprising to hear the gig had taken ten times the usual amount of effort, but as shoutout after shoutout rang out, the labour of love was clear. As I left the gig, one thing in my mind was certain, whether they achieve a number one or not, Stornoway will always have their very own river of voices around them.
Images: Gareth Clark
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