TAS In Session: Fanfarlo

Like Beirut, Sufjan Stevens and The Mummers, Fanfarlo plays an elegant, sparkling brand of orchestral pop that delights in reaching beyond the usual drums, bass, guitar and keyboard setup.

Trumpets, saws, accordians, glockenspiels and mandolins merrily punctuate the songs on the London-based band's debut, Reservoir, which was offered for a paltry sum digitally on the group's website over the summer but as of last week, dropped as a proper physical release on Canvasback.

The quintet - Swedish singer/songwriter and guitar-strumming sax player Simon Balthazar, drummer Amos Memon, bassist Justin Finch and multi-instrumentalists Cathy Lucas and Leon Beckenham - recently dropped by WFUV/The Alternate Side's Studio A to visit our own Rita Houston for an intimate live session carting glocks, fiddles and all ... and we felt pretty lucky:

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mISQwLKtwFg&feature=player_embedded] [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Nkq4TWT1yQ&feature=player_embedded] [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZSEMGUfEms&feature=player_embedded]

Fanfarlo will be playing four shows during CMJ Week:

10/19 Syndicate Conflict of Interest party

10/20 The Music Slut & Sneak Attack party (daytime show)

10/20 Brooklyn Vegan party

10/21 Bowery Ballroom (official showcase)