Ferris & Sylvester - Side A (Storm) 
Release Date: Out Now
It is, frankly, a relief to get a new EP from the excellent Ferris & Sylvester albeit late in the year and close to the wire. Better late than never though, eh? 'Side A (Storm)' is a five track collection which gives us a window in to what the husband and wife duo have been up to and, well, let's say they have been productive. 'Dark Side' gets us underway with a lively, almost jaunty blues riff accompanied by handclaps and those dusky, Joplin-esque vocals that make Issy Ferris such a great listen before things explode in a mixture of Black Keys and Yeah Yeah Yeahs energy.
'Imposter' keeps the energy going but this one has more of a soul and funk vibe with the lush keys lavished luxuriously over the guitars and those harmonies hitting you between the eyes with both barrels. On 'Don't Fall In Love With Me' the pair strip it all back for a bluesy, gospel inspired track that emerges slowly but gloriously from the swamp like a New Orleans version of the Lady of the Lake. The acoustic picking of 'Mother,' is a real tonal shift as the desperation of the lyrics from the child's perspective and the Fleetwood Mac-esque structure makes this one you really need to give your full attention to. The EP closes on 'The End Of the World' which could easily come from a 70s Bond film such is its luxuriously swooning and string laden melody delivering the heartbreak of unrequited love on the day the apocalypse arrives. Honestly, these are five magnificent songs that are casually tossed out in to the world in November of all months and if that isn't a sign of a song-writing duo in a rich seam of form then I don't know what is. I'll say it again for those at the back, this is magnificent.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/FerrisandSylvester
Live Dates:
FEBRUARY8th - Milton Keynes, MK 119th - Tunbridge Wells, Forum10th - Portsmouth, The Wedgewood Rooms14th - Hull, The New Adelphi Club15th - York, The Fulford Arms16th - Sunderland, Independent17th - Cambridge, Portland Arms20th - Huddersfield, The Parish21st - Birmingham, The Sunflower Lounge22nd - Brighton, Komedia23rd - Bristol, Thekla24th - Guildford, Boileroom27th - Liverpool, Camp and Furnace28th - Nottingham, Rescue Rooms29th - Manchester, Deaf Institute MARCH1st - London, Lafayette6th - St. Albans, The Horn7th - Dover, The Booking Hall8th - Golant, Bar Silo Cornwall9th - Falmouth, The Cornish Bank11th - Glasgow, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut12th - Edinburgh, The Mash House13th - Dublin, The Grand Social