Fjord Rowboat, if nothing else, has created a signature—and very pleasing—sound for itself. The band has been compared to Jesus and Mary Chain, Mogwai, and My Bloody Valentine, but on their sophomore album, Saved the Compliments for the Morning, the sound is more a mix of old school U2 with melancholy Cold Play and a few pop hooks reminiscent of early Oasis material. Nothing incredibly new, but brilliantly radio-ready.
The sound sometimes seems formulaic on the album—bass and drums wound together to create a warm-colored tapestry, shimmering guitars weaving in iridescent, almost ear-piercing blue and violets overtones, and the soothing vocals somewhere in between, bringing it all together—but it’s damn hard not to like it. None of the songs seem to stand out from the others, yet the album doesn’t seem one-dimensional either. Perhaps the best way to explain their sound is to say that their name is fitting: it’s the type of music you expect to be playing on the soundtrack as the heroes traverse a fjord in a rowboat on a rainy day. If you like one of their songs, you’ll like all of them.
