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Is almost a shame that my first dance with The Fairways is the slow dance at the end of the night. It could be the case that I have missed out on a thrilling career; it could be that I'm meeting my soul mate in the old folk's home. A lifetime of longing drifts into its twilight years and suddenly I look across the room and find 'the one for me'. It could be, but it isn't.
'This is Farewell' is a collection of songs - and they are just that, 'Songs', they aren't tracks, they aren't just numbers on a cd, they are lovingly crafted pastiches of life, three minute stories of love and loss. Anecdotal antidotes to those artistes who take themselves just that little bit too seriously. These thirteen songs comprise a collection culled from the six years that The Fairways spent together between 1998 and today. They include songs from long deleted singles, collaborations with The Aislers Set, limited release tour cd's and most importantly perhaps, the songs that would have made up the body of their, now never to be seen, second album proper.
It's quite obvious from the outset that The Fairways are not overly concerned with pop stardom, climbing the ladder, or heading the hierarchy was never their design. Simply writing, recording and performing simple, yet stunning, vignettes that so closely reflect on the everyday lives of those concerned is the modus operandi here. This album could quite easily, and indeed, should be the soundtrack to a movie, after all, it is already the soundtrack to the lives of The Fairways.
Sometimes I wonder what the hell music is for, spend a few hours listening to daytime Radio One, or endure the top forty chart run down one Sunday afternoon and you'll know what I mean. There is far too much shit out there that really has no real reason for being there, and to be honest I often get fed up with having to wade through all the crap just to get my hands on the good stuff. With this in mind, it is heartening to come across The Fairways, even if it is by virtue of their swansong. 'This Is Farewell' offers a collection of soothing, melodic pop songs that invariably ask the unanswerable questions of life, and equally as often are unable to suggest any answers to such ponderings. They don't however let this bother them too much - they just seem so happy with what they are doing, it's infectious, and to be honest I find myself grinning like a stupid kid when I'm listening to this record, don't ask me why, because I don't know. It just makes you feel good. Maybe it's the realisation that others are struggling with the same problems that we ourselves wrestle with on an everyday basis, maybe it's just because it's simple, pure pop, laced with delicate, luscious harmonies and sweet, soothing melodies. Quite simply this is music to swoon to.
I'm not quite sure that it's just because it's me, but this record seems to evoke memories. It makes me think of rain lashed Newcastle evenings, waiting in for the girl to call because neither of us had the money to go out; it's strange, but I can still see the rain streaked windows, and the steam rising from the freshly poured coffee now. And then the time in Paris when we argued at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and I found you crying in the café because you had wanted a hot chocolate, and the waitress had brought you a pain au chocolat. That moment it seemed like the world was against you, and I knew that it was me who was supposed to be there for you, even though I wanted to be a million miles away. And then that long walk back, alongside the river and down to the bed and breakfast in Montparnasse that we ran away from because we had no money left. And then all that makes me think of the night I saw you with him, I should have known it all along, and I suppose that I did, I just chose to ignore it, to pretend it wasn't happening. But it was and it did.
It takes me back to long journeys by road and rail, it makes me think about the days when I used to walk everywhere, sometimes bathed in glorious sunshine, other times running to avoid the rain. It reminds me of happier times, and more melancholy times. In the same fell swoop this is music to fall in love to, and music to fall out of love to.
This is not the kind of record that will make you sit up and take notice, it won't shake your musical sensibilities to the foundations, but that's not to say it isn't musically astute, it is. It's well written, and effortlessly presented. This record will however, envelop you in a warm, secure feeling. It reminds you how to dream, how to wonder, and how to believe, and for that, perhaps it is more important than music itself.
This is not goodbye, this is just farewell.
Johnny Mac
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