The Leisure Society
Alone Aboard the Ark
Release Date: Jul 2, 2013
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock
Record label: Full Time Hobby
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Album Review: Alone Aboard the Ark by The Leisure Society
Fairly Good, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 4
The Leisure Society have some famous fans. Guy Garvey named their Ivor Novello award-winning Last Of The Melting Snow his favourite song of 2008. Ray Davies invited them to record Alone Aboard The Ark, their third album, in his Konk studio in North London. And, perhaps most famously, film director Shane Meadows used to be in a band with Leisure Society leader Nick Hemming, and asked Hemming to score two of his films.
Based on rating 7.5/10
Folk-pop sweethearts The Leisure Society release their third album Alone Aboard the Ark, seemingly hot on the heels of 2011’s Into the Murky Water. Their story is the stuff of musician fairytales. Band gets together, band releases single, band gets nominated for an Ivor Novello, get signed, quit their day jobs, and full-time musicianhood ensues. Tours with Laura Marling, the wonderfully folky incestuous nature of The Wilkommen Collective, and all seems rosy for The Leisure Society.
Based on rating 6/10
Alone Aboard The Ark is the third album from double Ivor Novello award nominees The Leisure Society. Building on the lightweight pop-folk style that makes their records and live performances a breath of fresh air, this is a surprisingly mixed bag of an album. Of the many faces of Alone Aboard The Ark, the predominant one is that which the band has cultivated over the years.
Based on rating C-
British folk-rock band The Leisure Society released their ambitious 2009 debut LP to as auspicious a reception a young band can hope for. Touching on areas from skittering dance-pop to bare bones freak folk, The Sleeper earned them a sincere endorsement from Brian Eno. From the outset, it was clear that frontman Nick Hemming possessed a musical versatility that doubled as the emotional core of The Leisure Society; that Eno wasn’t the only pop pioneer to endorse them isn’t a surprise.
Opinion: Very Good
The Leisure Society are a band with real songwriting pedigree. Their previous albums - 2009’s ‘The Sleeper’ and ‘Into The Murky Water’ released in 2011 - were acclaimed pieces of baroque English folk-pop that not only garnered consecutive Ivor Novello awards, but perfectly established band leader Nick Hemming’s intelligent but charming aesthetic. Third album ‘Alone Aboard The Ark’ sees them further reaffirming their quaint old-time charms with a release that looks back, while retaining the air of a band who are happily prepared to continue on their own merry way.
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