Stornoway / Tom Williams & The Boat / Mr Bones & The Dreamers
Stornoway – The band consists of an ornithologist, a rusty russian translator, and a South African brotherhood. They were first united in a snow-encrusted garage in Oxford, where they instantly attracted the attention of Dr & Mrs Killjoy the neighbours.
After initially dabbling in Psychadelic Punk, Comic Jazz, Rocksteady, and banana costumes, the band honed their sound and instantly attracted the attention of Adam Briggs, brother of the ornithologist. Adam’s trumpeting can now be heard on our debut single ‘Zorbing’, a song about the extreme sport invented in New Zealand by Andrew Akers and Dwayne van der Sluis. After throwing up, the band instantly attracted the attention of violinist Rahul Satija, who can be heard playing on our song ‘Unfaithful’.
The band’s extracurricular interests include hiking trips, tandem cycling, power-kiting, nature-watching and something called hackisack. None of them have ever been to their Hebridean namesake. But Brian once got to within 37 miles of it.
‘The songs are uniformly beautiful, and the lyrics have a disconcerting habit of winding you emotionally…Strident, celebratory and roof-raising.’ 4/5
Twisted Folk Tour review, THE GUARDIAN
‘A breath of fresh air. Come join the lovely revolution.’
NME
‘Songs such as ‘Unfaithful’ and ‘Zorbing’ have them in danger of shaking off their ‘best-kept secret’ tag in the near future. 4/5′
ARTROCKER
Support comes from Mr Bones & The Dreamers - a bookish band with twelve legs between them; apportioned two per member. They play indie folk-music that was described by sax playing ex-president Bill Clinton as ’ the sound of Dolly Parton singing Joy Division songs, alone and drunk in her Dollywood mansion after an expansive session on the gin…
“…a giant slab of traditional folk complete with stomping, foot tapping rhythm that bursts with dark energy… Mr Bones And The Dreamers are proof that it is possible to turn the grey streets of the Midlands into something far from dreary and generic if you are brave enough to believe in your ideals and go it alone” God Is In The TV
Tom Williams And The Boat have been building a healthy fanbase and attracting attention for their literate pop over the course of the last twelve months. Summer 2009 saw them play a clutch of UK festivals whilst the intervening months have been spent touring the UK in between stops for college duties whilst Tom has also played a host of solo shows and recently toured with Chris TT in that guise. No strangers to choruses, the band’s lyrics fly a flag for a return to wit and subversion tackling subjects including suicide bombers and dead relatives with a deft touch.
