Bishop Allen - The Broken String Album Review

Bishop Allen
The Broken String
Album Review

The Broken String is the first proper studio album from Brooklyn band Bishop Allen, which is essentially two friends and a bunch of musical collaborators. The 'friends' bit is important, as Bishop Allen make a kind of music that sounds like everyone involved is having a whole lot of fun. The music is hard to pigeonhole - at turns, a little bit folk, a little bit rock and a lot of indie spirit - but every song is just that, an individual song with hooky melody, proper lyrics, proper beginning, middle and ends.

References to other bands wouldn't make sense - maybe there's a touch of James, maybe a piece of Beautiful South, a smidgen of Spoon, a chunk of Bright Eyes - unless to suggest that this isn't a band that relies on arch coolness. Just genuinely excellent and compelling songs, infectious fun and catchy choruses, played through instruments as diverse as clarinets, flutes, strings and guitars. A genuinely lovely find - The Broken String sounds like a Greatest Hits album from some band you'll wish you'd found sooner. Album of the Week.

4/5

Mike Rea