Silvia & The Fishes On Friday
Album: Under Water (EP)
Label: Sign Pole
Tracks: 5
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/silviathefishesonfriday

Silvia & The Fishes On Friday formed in 2010 in Udine, Italy, where Silvia Guerra and Guido Michielis' mutual passion for music met. They claim lineage to, and direct inspiration from, the north European songwriting tradition, and convey their feelings and thoughts in delicate musical language that's based around the combination of acoustic guitars and spiky percussion (largely xylophone and hand-bells) but occasionally a fuller and more driven texture (as on Consuming).

The overall mood is an evocative wintry landscape that reaches out and back from the mind to the world outside. Silvia's quirky vocal delivery may take a bit of getting used to, but it suits the odd introspection of the couple's lyrics; the drawback with this duo's music can be a certain flatness and consistency of approach that doesn't always reflect the lyric content, a gently thumping gait that outstays its welcome after a couple of songs.

David Kidman