Pissing On Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues - Excellent!

Meursault are a band best described as folk/punk/electro from Scotland who released their debut album, Pissing On Bonfires/Kissing With Tongues on the 15th December 2008. They're yet another charming indie folk band out of Edingburgh but set themselves apart with an elegance in songwriting which sees Neil Pennycook's Meursault as all of bleak, upbeat, experimental and slightly chaotic, whilst retaining the kind of irresistable addictiveness you usually get from the latest Orange advert. Part of what keeps you coming back to this album is the ecletic range of influences evident everywhere, and the way this album sounds like a combination of these you can't really hold in one place. The banjo riff on 'The Furnace' sounds like an oddly timed Crystal Castles crossed with a reverb filled Born Ruffians with the acoustic strumming style of Neutral Milk Hotel, and the beautiful 'Small Stretch of Land' is as beautiful as folk gets, showing a strong voice and lyrical expertise in one of the best tracks on the album. For such an unknown band, with under 40,000 views on their myspace, they have released a highly commendable late entering debut in one of the best albums of the year, available from Song, By Toad Records via link on the myspace. They recorded a nice little Toad Session of the Furnace just below:



and an interview here.

The Furnace (YSI)
Small Stretch of Land (YSI)