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This is a starkly beautiful set of songs from Leeds-based Fran Rodgers. From the slightly Baroque tones of the looped harmonies of Ep 'The Lighthouse', Rodgers has managed to find a perfect balance between her pure, almost virginal vocals and a darker, deeper melody than I have heard on her previous releases. Or maybe I'm just miserable and prefer this ostensibly less happy offering. Either way, there is little doubt that this is a big step up. Tom Fleming of Wild Beasts fame gets name-checked in 'I See Horses Flee' but it is the intricate finger picked guitars and shuffle snare drum that steal the show. It's classical folk with a modern, personal twist. There's room for a change of pace with 'To This Land of Mine' which sounds like Ralph McTell playing a Baptist hymn straight from the deep south. There's an overall tautness to this whole 5-track EP which adds an extra tension to what I had heard on Rodgers' previous releases. I'm completely won over. - Tasty Fanzine
More of her beautifully calming crafted folk warmth. Five songs all worthy of your attention - both strong and fragile, graceful, pure, Fran's songs and voice are special . There's a quote from an old Organ review here on her press release, it reads "simple, glowing, beautiful, strong, angelic, enticing, seductive... perfect", more of the same then - it really is that simple and that good. Classic timeless English leafy folk, good enough for us to mention names like Sandy Denny, Nick Drake... Personal, emotional, beautiful. I See Horses features Tom Fleming of Wild Beasts... just beautiful English folk warmth and a place to lay your head and everthing just right, go discover her, you won't regret it. - Organ Magazine
From the medieval chord pattern on opening track, 'The Lighthouse' through to the urgent strings on album denouement 'The Protester', Fran Rodgers' debut EP sounds as if it could have been recorded any time in the last five centuries. With the syncopated harmonies and self-styled finger-picking that permeate "The Green Room", one can picture the folkie songstress recording the EP in a hut in Sherwood Forest, surviving on leaves and berries like a vegan Bon Iver.
In fact, The Green Room sees Rodgers following up the success of her recent single and performances at Leeds and Reading festivals last summer and is set for release in late February. Her folk-tinged melodies carry the stories of love, loss and hope over a harmonious blend of acoustic guitars and subtle percussion, evoking comparisons with Beth Orton and Mary Black. Lyrically, Rodgers often leans on metaphors, in particular the nautical theme that runs throughout 'A Place to Lay Your Head', with a siren-like vocal quality drawing the listener into her ageless world of beauty and despair.
Wild Beasts' Tom Fleming provides backing vocals that balance Rodgers' shrill melodies on 'I See Horses Flee', hauntingly chanting, "They'll be tears tonight, in this quiet town"; the lyrics denote Rodgers' provincial upbringing in Nottinghamshire and is the EP's gentle summit.
The strength of The Green Room's songs lies in their simplicity; whether this could hold the listener for an entire album remains to be seen, yet with female electro-pop tipped to be what's hot in 2009, artists like Rodgers and Smoke Fairies seem to be the perfect antidote to Lady GaGa and her ilk. - Room Thirteen
Discography
'The Green Room EP' - EP
'I Fell To You Under Winter Sun' - Single
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Bio
Born in 1982 to an English father and a French mother, Fran Rodgers was raised with her twin sister in an old mining town in Nottinghamshire. Hours spent listening to her parents' records inspired a love of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and, later, the likes of Nick Drake, Nick Cave and Jeff Buckley. Following a move to Leeds in 2000 Fran discovered a passion for singing and, self-taught on the guitar, she began to write. She has been performing in and around Leeds for 6 years, playing acoustic guitar and dulcimer, and using a loop pedal to create choral harmonies live. More recently she has put together a band featuring some of her closest friends, including a cellist and a charango player.
She performed solo at Leeds and Reading 2008, and released 'The Green Room EP', which takes its name from the room in which she listened to records as a child, last year. Lead track, 'I See Horses Flee' features the wonderful Tom Fleming of Wild Beasts on backing vocals. She is currently putting together material for her debut album.
Fran Rodgers is a breath of fresh air in a world dominated by Rock and Pop. Her music is timeless, her lyrics engaging, her voice pure and graceful. She is a rare talent, whose music will pull at the heart strings and leave its mark on the listener long after the final notes have faded away.
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