Alone Aboard The Ark (Audio CD)

In an interview with For Folk’s Sake, British songwriter Nick Hemming had to say of his band the Leisure Society’s latest record, Alone Aboard the Ark (2013): “this one sounds pretty much perfect – or at least how I envisioned it.” It’s hard to argue with him; Alone Aboard the Ark is a fully realized album of fully realized, literate chamber pop, the perfect complement to a sunny summer afternoon. Which means you might have to wait a few months for the proper ambiance, but it’s still more than worth a listen, no matter the season.Many reviewers have compared this latest record with the kings of modern chamber pop, Belle & Sebastian. But while they certainly share a similar aesthetic, the songs here rarely remind me in any direct way of Stuart Murdoch & Co. A closer comparison would be to Rufus Wainwright, or especially the Divine Comedy. The similarities are particularly marked when the Leisure Society’s music frequently...Read more