the Olympic Symphonium

Everyone knows music can help us weather the harshest of emotions. But if The Olympic Symphonium teaches us anything with The City Won’t Have Time to Fight, it’s that music can indeed provide comfort from the harshest of weather. As one of the most trying winters in recent memory sweeps through North America, this five-piece out of Fredericton, New Brunswick creates a warm and comforting language that is best translated late at night while Mother Nature wreaks havoc outside.

It’s a rickety, bare-bones listen, complete with coughs heard amidst floating, evocative chamber-folk melodies. “Cold and Blue” stretches with a delicate sway, while “History” proliferates the congenial, acoustic-heavy vibe that’s littered throughout the record.

This is not mood music, however. The City Won’t Have Time to Fight is the kind of record that will not only keep you warm but provide some hope through those tough times that seem impossible to escape. It’s an engaging listen. Here’s hoping that it won’t be (shamefully) overlooked in 2011. - Pop Matters

"A thing of homespun beauty." - Line of Best Fit, UK

"As one of the most trying winters in recent memory sweeps through North America, this five-piece out of Fredericton, New Brunswick creates a warm and comforting language that is best translated late at night while Mother Nature wreaks havoc outside." - Pop Matters

"..a bit like a hot bath: a bit hard to get into at first, but once you let its warm comforts envelop you, it's hard to pull yourself out." - Vu Weekly, Edmonton

"...a maudlin, reflective pleasure to experience. More please. " - Americana UK

"The record is amazingly digestible. Songs flow into each other nicely and the band waits until you are settled into the song before making changes and it becomes harder and harder to turn the damn record off." - Herohill, Halifax

"...contemplative, heartfelt acoustic pop that flourishes upon repeat listening." - Toronto Star

"More In Sorrow Than In Anger is a beautifully executed album that resounds with honesty and genuine sincerity. Recommended. " - Baby Sue, USA
- Various

You may or may not know that this third album from New Brunswick band The Olympic Symphonium was recorded in one week. You likely wouldn’t be able to discern this from listening to the album; it’s so finely crafted you would think the band spent a year on it.

The core trio of Nick Cobham, Kyle Cunjak and Graeme Walker add Dennis Goodwin and Bob Deveau this time around and the extra members really add something to the folk-pop sound that the Olympic Symphonium do so well.

The album starts off very strong with “No Bad Habits” which is first accompanied by an acoustic chord progression. The voice is also very strong and passionate, and passion seems to be something that this band does really well. Eventually the song picks up some strong percussion later in the song.

This album has something that I absolutely love in albums, and that is vocal harmonies. These harmonies can be heard in almost (if not all) of the nine songs found here, and they really add a lot to songs like “Flame” and “Cold and Blue.”

The lyrics here are also quite descriptive and beautiful. In “State of the Union Address” the chorus goes: “I’ll be asleep and I’ll drown/My body will never be found.”

The album ends with “Crowded House,” a song that goes through several tempo and instrumental changes making for a great finish for a great album.

If this album was recorded in a week I hope the Olympic Symphonium can release many more albums in the future.

Top Tracks: “No Bad Habits”; “Cold and Blue” - Grey Owl Point

The Chronicle Herald Metro 12/30/2010,

Olympic Symphonium THE CITY WON’T HAVE TIME TO FIGHT (Forward Music)
The latest record from Fredericton’s Olympic Symphonium doesn’t come out for another three weeks, but it’s hard to resist the urge to give the record a plug in advance of its release and upcoming shows.

The City Won’t Have Time to Fight continues the Olympic Symphonium’s exploration of the divide in our souls between urban and rural, cerebral and spiritual, with its finely tuned contrast of electric and acoustic in struments.

Somehow it sounds per fect for this time of year, and you can sample videos of the songs for free over at southernsouls.ca Olympic Symphonium launches The City Won’t Have Time to Fight on Jan.

21 at the Stereophonic Festival in Sackville, N.B. — at the Vogue Theatre with Snailhouse — and in Halifax on Jan. 27 during the In t he Dead of Winter festival, at St. George’s Church with Paper Beat Scissors.

For more info go to www.theolympicsymphonium.com

(scooke@herald.ca) - Chronicle Herald

The fellows in The Olympic Symphonium haven't been around that long (they released their debut full-length release in 2007)...but from the sounds on More In Sorrow Than In Anger you would think these guys have been playing together for many years. This album presents what might best be described as progressive organic pop. The tunes are, for the most part, rather mellow and subdued...and the arrangements feature classic instruments with a noticeable absence of modern electronics getting in the way of the melodies. The gents in this band do not write easy, catchy pop. These tracks are subtle and moody and take several spins before they even begin to sink in. The playing is inspired and restrained...and the vocals have a wonderfully unrehearsed sound that is particularly inviting. Ten strangely inviting tracks here including "Intentions Alone," "Side By Side," "Dead Man's Inn," and "Oh Dear." Some of the tunes on this album recall the overall sound and mood of Dumptruck's 1980's masterpiece For The Country. The cover art is stunning. The front features a businessman in a city park with an elephant on his back...while the back presents a robot carrying a monkey (?!?). More In Sorrow Than In Anger is a beautifully executed album that resounds with honesty and genuine sincerity. Recommended. (Rating: 5++) - Baby Sue, USA

Taking time out from their regular jobs in more aurally energetic (though undisclosed) rock bands, the three members of the Olympic Symphonium have collaborated to explore their gentler, more passive sides on this their second album.

"More in Sorrow…" is a quiet, contemplative, occasionally anguished stroll of an album, wallowing somewhat in its purposefully luxurious and maudlin nature. Vocals are whispered and quietly confessed rather than exclaimed, and the spare use of upright bass, strings banjos and pedal steel add to the darkly inviting beauty of everything here.

The solemn and mournful country of "Blood From a Stone" is the album's best complete song, while not far behind it, the simple lead guitar lines of the wonderful "Intentions Alone" lend it a sweeping instant beauty similar to something from the more buoyant end of the Cardinals repertoire. All the while Graeme Walker’s vocals quietly rail against loneliness.

“Oh Dear� is another high point and follows the theme of orchestrated and sorrowful introspection, with the kind of harmony and soft feel Midlake have patented.

Occasionally the lyrics fall out of the ‘could-try-harder’ file ("Through The Day’s" “..I woke up in the air, and found that you weren’t there, I couldn’t smell your hair…� being a prime offender) but these concerns aside, if its over-all mood and ambience they are aiming to capture, they have succeeded wonderfully.

Capturing the attention may not specifically be the intention here, but there is enough by way of intimate charm, and fragility to ensure that “In Sorrow…� is never anything other than a maudlin, reflective pleasure to experience. More please. - Americana UK

Like a swimmer dipping his foot into water to determine the proper temperature, many musicians comprehend the importance of testing the waters. Few of them instantaneously discover a stylistic solace, even if they are able to produce an eclectic number of genres flawlessly. For their own songwriting, they will never truly discover what style fits their own personal method best unless they are willing to try a variety of them. The Olympic Symphonium, a Canadian trio hailing from New Brunswick, tend to take this ideology to heart quite significantly. Between the three of them, the members have ties to nearly a dozen other groups, several of which are of different genres. Considering that the majority of their projects tend to produce vigorous forms of rock music though, it is somewhat ironic that their current primary project is focused on a gentle breed of folk, country, and pop that is accompanied by a delicate mixture of keys and acoustic guitars. The three multi-instrumentalists – Nick Cobham, Graeme Walker, and Kyle Cunjak – have written music where roaring guitars are at the forefront, others were a frail piano melody drives the track, and a few where an acoustic guitar incorporates itself within a mixture of both; it is simply a testament to the fact that these three young songwriters have tried their hand at a variety of genres.

When it all came down to it though, the trio’s decision to make The Olympic Symphonium their primary source of output came down to two things: the accessibility of collaboration and the stylistic flexibility that derives from it. Between gigs like Walker’s role as bassist in Grand Theft Bus, Cunjak’s occupation as an increasingly reputable photographer, and both Cunjak’s and Cobham’s positions as members of the Andrew Sisk-fronted Share (label-mates on Forward Music Group), one should be impressed that these three talented musicians find the time to sleep. They have all found relative success in their other projects, but the growing success of The Olympic Symphonium is most likely indicative of the trio’s high level of comfort when producing songs for it. Since the three members have such similar stylistic ideologies, they never are victims of forced stylistic decisiveness, instead embracing the luxury that they have in writing and performing songs in an atmosphere with no rules or guidelines. “It’s a lot easier to write songs for this band in a way,� Cobham said, elaborating by saying that writing for The Olympic Symphonium contains “a different aspect� of selectivity when compared to the other groups the members participate in. They are writing music in a vein most suitable for their personal tastes, resulting in something that is both resoundingly successful and methodically convincing.

Quite naturally, The Olympic Symphonium came together over a collection of tentative songs. All three members are constantly active songwriters, and that can that be both beneficial and detrimental in the grand scheme of things. If you are with a project that strays exclusively toward a certain style, some brilliant examples of songwriting may never see the light of day due to stylistic differences. This was the case on The Olympic Symphonium’s debut album, the suitably titled Chapter 1. Initially an experimentation of sorts to see if the trio’s collection of songs would be compatible with a focused and cohesive sound, it expanded into a full-time project after they saw the artistic success it brought. Clearly through experience, the members knew what success sounded like after participating in both successes and failures throughout their musical careers. When crafting the beginnings of Chapter 1, they realized that this project in particular had the capability to be a prominent achievement. Though it did not manage to bustle up a lot of attention outside of Canada’s three Maritime provinces, those lucky few who were able to obtain a copy were delighted to hear what was the work of genuine songwriters whose stylistic focus and level of songwriting were proficiently presented in a form that is rare among rookie and veteran musicians alike. Though it is now out of print, I recommend their debut to all those who can find it (go the MP3 route, for sure).

Continuing upon the success of Chapter 1 after its March 2007 release date, The Olympic Symphonium wisely felt that undertaking another chapter of work as soon as possible would be a wise move. They began work almost immediately, but chose to take their time in releasing the final result. Spreading their work out over several months of writing and recording, they took time in noting and expanding upon the intricacies of each and every work, just like any group of musicians who get along exceedingly well. The final versions of the songs did not appear until November 11th, when their sophomore follow-up, More in Sorrow Than in Anger, was released. With the album’s title derived from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, it contains the same sense of successful romanticized longing that Chapter 1 executed so well. One of the standouts, “Oh Dear�, makes for an extremely touching fusion of folk and country with aching accompaniments of slide guitar and banjo. “Oh my dear, your image is calling me,� Cunjak sings during the chorus. “Oh my dear, I’m falling.� The verses take a route similar to that of The Czars with a slow but delicately rousing assortment of acoustics and softly echoing bass, while the chorus sees an instrumental expansion that is additionally uplifted by the usage of simultaneous vocal harmonies and more prominent usages of the banjo and steel guitar. Overall, it is my favorite on the album for both its melodic brilliance and sheer amount of raw emotion conveyed.

One aspect of musicianship that all three members of The Olympic Symphonium clearly value is collaboration, and they once again showed no reluctance to turn to other brilliant musicians to aid in the progress of More in Sorrow Than in Anger. The constant percussive additions by Bob Deveau all throughout the album, the vocals of Catherine McLellan on the broodingly acoustical “Side by Side�, Kinley Dowling’s strings on the haunting “The Note�, and Rose Cousin’s duet with Cobham on the excellent “Dead Man’s Inn� are just a few of the primary collaborations throughout the album’s ten tracks. “We felt there were lots of layers there that we could use and we’re lucky enough to have lots of musical friends that are gracious,� Walker said. And even when the group leaves the somber territory of “The Note� and “Oh Dear�, they show that they are able to fill listeners with optimism on tracks like “Intentions Alone� and “Travellin’ Song�, the latter of which sees Cunjak’s upright bass working together with Cobham’s fleeting electric guitar to form a very impressive product. That the highly contrastable “Oh Dear� follows it up shows the diversity within the group’s songwriting to an excellent extent. Even upon first listen, More in Sorrow Than in Anger is a very rewarding listen that immediately sees the trio expand upon the promising ideas of their first album. Especially after repeated listens though, one will begin to fully understand how capable The Olympic Symphonium really are. - Obscure Sound Blog

This somehow more chilled out and melodic cover of Yo La Tengo’s “Saturday” was a personal favorite for the whole year. It probably doesn’t say a lot about The Olympic Symphonium that the two songs I picked for them are covers, but it should at least say a lot about their skill as musicians that they can cover songs so excellently. I like this cover more than Yo La’s original. And though I really do love The Olympic Symphonium’s original music, these covers stood out from the material of theirs I have. - Mike Nason, Freelancer

It has almost been a year since the last Halifax Pop Explosion, which means it’s almost been a year since I stumbled on a terrific band from New Brunswick. At the time, we talked about how The Olympic Symphonium covered up their country and folk influences with surprisingly addictive grooves, and even though I meant to track down their last, OOP record, I never did.

Over the last year, they’ve put out some tracks on the Forward Music sampler, and been a part of the Great Canadian Mixtape, but as is the case with most Maritime acts, people don't seem to have heard about the band (a quick glance at the usual suspects proves that). It’s sad, because as long as that 12-hour drive to Montreal is , it seems even longer when it works like a one-way street. We wait on baited breath for National acts to head our way, but for Maritime acts, making a name on the other side of the St. Lawrence is as daunting a task now as it was for Samuel de Champlain.

Hopefully though, people will start paying attention to The Symphonium. The record – and the band really - is tailor made for CBC airplay and a prefect representation of what the East has to offer. The songs are heavy in the autumn colors you’d expect, but the band slinks into the icy darkness of the colder winters we suffer through out here and the songs start speaking for the smaller towns that make up most of our population.

The three talented musicians (Nick Cobham, Kyle Cunjak and Graeme Walker) share the spotlight equally, and as a result the diverse songs hit home with almost any audience. Whether it’s a beautiful piano ballad (You Win Some, You Loose Some), a poppy folk number (the banjo/acoustic driven Intentions Alone), a country tinged duet (the remarkable Blood From A Stone) or a bolder anthem like Through the Day, the trio seems comfortable in almost any style. A perfect example is how the slow, picked notes of The Note are filled out nicely by the eerie, atmospheric pedal steel that meanders around the openness of the track and soaring strings, but still don’t seem out of place when compared to the almost jammy Travellin’ Man.

They also benefit from the support of some talented friends. The backing vocals of songstresses like Jenn Grant and personal fav Catherine MacLellan really give the record a gentle touch at just the right moments. The darkness of Side by Side transports you to the bottom of a bottle, leaving you to figure out when things started to fall apart, but the lovely female harmonies are like a light at the end of the tunnel; a little sign that you will get through the hurt.

The record is amazingly digestible. Songs flow into each other nicely and the band waits until you are settled into the song before making changes and it’s becomes harder and harder to turn the damn record off. As the play counts start rising, textures and nuances start appearing and you really start to appreciate the depth of the songs. I’ve been listening to More In Sorrow Than In Anger for about a month now, and every time I think I have picked up everything it has to offer, something new grabs my ear. With the amount of artists and songs that you delete after a listen or two, I think that speaks more volume than anything else I could say. - Hero Hill

Snatches of this new entry by a trio of talented Maritime musicians are vaguely reminiscent of Sheryl Crow's "Leaving Las Vegas" (you'll know the bits we're talking about when you hear them). A more relevant indication of what they're up to is the company they keep, from Cuff the Duke's Dale Murray to highly regarded singer-songwriters Catherine MacLelland and Jenn Grant – which is to say, contemplative, heartfelt acoustic pop that flourishes upon repeat listening. (From More in Sorrow Than in Anger, out Nov. 11, theolympicsymphonium.com) - Toronto Star

The Olympic Symphonium is a Fredericton three-piece folk group featuring Kyle Cunjak (The Fussy Part), Nick Cobham (The Fussy Part, All of Green) and Graeme Walker (Grand Theft Bus).

Chapter 1 is the band's first album. It's a change from each member's other more rocking projects. Led primarily by simple, lightly plucked acoustic guitar, this is an intimate and laid back nine track album.

"Hail Me King" opens the album with a simple guitar riff and features earnest vocals from (I think) Cunjak. Each member of the group writes and sings, so I'm not sure who is providing the vocals and harmonies on every tune. Electronic snippets enter the song in the second verse, provided by Grand Theft Bus's Bob Deveau. It gives the band's light folk sounds an unexpected but interesting twist.

The electronic element comes into play most on a cover of Yo La Tengo's "Saturday" where a simple acoustic riff rolls along underneath various spacey electronic snippets and samples.

Later, a cello (or what sounds like a cello) and some great harmonies give the ballad "Stay In My Arms" a deep, haunting feel.

Each element of the band's sound is pretty basic on their own -- there is no attempt at virtuoso playing here -- but these guys are all veterans of the Fredericton music scene and they've managed to take those basic elements and make something fresh, new and interesting. I believe the album is only available in limited quantities, so if you want to check it out, get on it quick.

- Eric Lewis - Times & Transcript

It was easy enough to miss the release of The Olympic Symphonium's debut CD, Chapter 1, which has been in stores for a few weeks.

Save for a few friends and fans, the band didn't tell anyone the disc was out, an uncharacteristic move by the group's three members, who each play in well-established, well-promoted New Brunswick-based bands like Grand Theft Bus, All of Green and The Fussy Part.

The quiet release speaks volumes about what it's like for a group of guys in their 20s to explore a genre that has them baring their souls.

"It's kind of nerve-racking," said Kyle Cunjak, who plays stand-up bass and keyboard, as well as adding some vocals to the experimental folk album, during a recent interview.

Chapter 1 is one of the most mature albums to come out of this camp, a confessional for Cunjak and bandmates Graeme Walker and Nick Cobham. The three wax poetic about love, loss and even the war on terror. But they're not all doom and gloom. Despite heavy lyrics, these three pranksters and friends share a lot of laughs, including one group guffaw that made it onto the recording after track seven, Pieces.

The band got its start when the three musicians, all singer-songwriters, each had a few songs that didn't fit with the other bands they belonged to. Instead of trying to force the works into pre-existing projects, they formed Olympic Symphonium, tinkering with their songs with a stand-up bass, a couple of acoustic guitars and a toy keyboard.

The resulting disc shares little resemblance to most Atlantic Canadian folk albums. While the songwriting is traditional, the trio makes use of electronic drums and atmospherics, courtesy of the band members and well-known drummer Bob Deveau, who textures music with electronic sounds.

Live, the trio is captivating, blending sparse yet superb musicianship with beautifully sung two- and three-part harmonies. That these three seasoned artists seem as vulnerable as children onstage for the first time only adds to their allure.

But don't confuse vulnerability with inexperience.

Walker said the genuine, heartfelt lyrics aren't necessarily self-referential, but are always personal. He said most of his songs came out of observing people in situations they had no control over. An outsider looking in, he wrote the disc's first track, Hail Me King, about an unhealthy relationship between two friends.

The soon-to-be father, whose first child is due in seven weeks, said impending parenthood has him thinking about bigger issues, too, especially about the world his child will be born into. These ideas crept into his songwriting, in tracks like his pseudo-polemic Illuminate. "That's a response to the ridiculous war going on in the world," he said.

Cobham and Cunjak share vocal and songwriting duties with Walker. Cobham, a natural front man and vocalist, nearly steals the show. One of the province's most versatile pop-rock musicians, he plays bass for the Fredericton-based All of Green, pitches in guitar and vocals in the post-rock group The Fussy Part and does guitar and backup vocals for Them the Ragtag.

But Cobham's vocal prowess doesn't detract from Cunjak's couple of turns at the microphone.

"This is the first time I've been the main singer," Cunjak said. It's a new experience for the full-time photographer and musician, who lends backing vocals and bass for The Fussy Part, Share, David Myles and Petunia.

It might not be long before the band is putting out a Chapter 2 after playing coffee houses across the country. But with one member with a child on the way and a total of eight bands between the three to make time for, how does the group actually think it can do that?

"Were going to keep recording," said Cunjak.

You can catch The Olympic Symphonium in Moncton on March 28 at The Aberdeen, in Halifax at the T-room on March 29 and at The Loyalist City Folk Festival in Saint John on March 30 and 31. CD's can be purchased at www.forwardmusicgroup.com - the Telegraph-Journal

FREDERICTION — Playing music in a small town can sometimes leave one feeling as though there aren't too many people to turn to when looking to create new sounds. The members of The Olympic Symphonium, who are all active in Fredericton's music scene, decided to turn to one another when starting their latest project.

Graeme Walker, Kyle Cunjak, Nick Cobham and Bob Deveau are all well-known in the Atlantic music scene, having played in such bands as Grant Theft Bus, All Of Green, Mellon Works and Fussy Part. However, when Walker found himself writing songs that wouldn't exactly fit in with Grand Theft Bus' style, he turned to Cunjak, who was looking to start a new band.

"Two years ago, Graeme asked if I wanted to rehearse these songs he had with him, so we practised a few times over the winter and it went well," explains Cunjak. "I knew Nick played solo shows doing intimate songs that didn't fit in with his other bands, and our songs were more singer/songwriter-based."

With Cobham on board, The Olympic Symphonium wasted little time laying down tracks in a studio. The end result is their recently released Chapter 1. The album's nine songs are quiet and personal indie folk with occasional dashes of country, bluegrass and Maritime influences.

"We kept turning out these songs and we weren't doing them for anything other than personal enjoyment, but it's pretty much been the most well-received thing we've done — at least speaking for myself," says Cunjak.

The band are still a labour of love for the group members, who aren't ready to leave any of their other projects behind.

"Everybody seems to think that it's hard to juggle all these bands," Cunjak says, "but everybody wants time off at certain points.

"Right now we have our album out, but, when Grand Theft Bus release their album, we'll take a break while they tour behind it. This way each band gets a break and you're not going to over-saturate the market."

With their CD release shows behind them, The Olympic Symphonium are planning to showcase Chapter 1 at a number of eastern Canada music festivals, including Pop Montreal, the Halifax Pop Explosion, the East Coast Music Awards and Harvest Jazz And Blues Festival. Their lone scheduled club date is at Fredericton's Wilser's Room on Sept. 14.

—Ben Conoley - ChartAttack

Although they’ve recruited a good few friends to flesh out the sound on this, their second album, 'More in Sorrow than in Anger' is still very much the sound and vision of the Olympic Symphonium's three band members, Nick Cobham, Graeme Walker and Kyle Cunjak. All three contribute to the song writing and play guitars and keyboards as well as providing vocals throughout the album.

Knowing little about the band apart from the fact that they are Canadian and share a number of musical projects between them and wanted to, under the Olympic Symphonium banner, create music that is more subtle and gentle than they have previously produced it would appear that they have succeeded.

Having not heard any music from their other musical projects I can’t confirm that these ten songs are, in fact, cut in a mellower mood than their other work but it is hard to imagine a lusher, calming collection of songs being issued this year.

With quiet, almost whispered vocals, the songs, while not being laboured, are certainly not in a rush to reach their conclusion and if that makes it sound like the album could be heavy going then the opposite is, in fact, true. The songs are immediately accessible, something that is rare when an album is taken at this slower pace.

Albums like this are a treat when they come along which is far too infrequently. Almost impossible to pigeon-hole, the trio cover a lot of bases through the ten songs. The opening instrumental, ‘You Win Some, You Lose Some’, which is surprisingly just Cobham on guitar and Cunjak on piano (how can just two instruments with no vocals convey so much?), while not sounding remotely anything like the Beach Boys recalls the power and emotion Brian Wilson used to employ in his instrumental pieces around the time of ‘Pet Sounds’. Instrumentals that talk are rare in pop music in these times. The following song, ‘Intentions Alone’, is the first time we get to hear those hushed vocals, with Graeme taking the lead impressively and although the trio are helped out on this song by four other musicians the sound, while still retaining that lushness, is thankfully uncluttered so that the catchy guitar lines that really do make the song are never lost in the mix.

The next couple of songs follow in the same vein ; slow, melancholy in feel with the vocals being sympathetic to the fullness of the warm instrumental backing but then with ‘Blood From A Stone’ the band throw you off course a little. While ‘The Note’ had the affecting but subtle addition of lap steel and ‘Side By Side’ being boosted by the electric slide guitar of Jason Vautour and took the band in yet another direction, Dale Murray’s pedal steel on ‘Blood From A Stone’ really does push the band into a genre that is totally unexpected. With Walker turning in his best performance on the album, brilliant vocal support from Catherine MacLellan and Cunjak’s superb upright bass playing this song could have been a highlight on any Flying Burrito Bros album or at the very least it will appeal to any Eagles fan. An absolutely superb performance from all concerned and worth the price of admission on its own.

Occasionally the album takes a slight dip and certain songs do take more than one listen to really shine, ‘Dead Man’s Inn’ is a typical example; with Cobham taking the lead vocals this time; his vocals, although still verging on being whispered, have more of an edge to them than Walker’s but it’s the backing vocals from Rose Cousins that add a sinister feel to match the sole guitar. It’s an atmospheric piece for sure and worth sticking with but not as instant as many of the other songs.

One thing this album did do was have me reaching for my old Red House Painters albums; every time I hear ‘More in Sorrow than In Anger’ I am reminded of that band which is not a bad thing.

This is a Sunday morning album; a take it easy and take it in collection that brings more rewards with repeated playing. It’s a very impressive collection of songs and I, for one, will be keeping an eye and ear open for any future releases by the Olympic Symphonium.
- Penny Blacks Music, UK