Whistler have so far released only one other album, entitled Whistler. Faith In The Morning follows similar themes of instrumetation, with EMF refugee Ian Dench providing guitar foil to James Topham's melancholic viola, while Kerry Shaw whispers above the ensuing textures about highly personal themes. One is at once reminded of Black Box Recorder by Whistler's arrangements, a comparison exacerbated by Shaw's vocal proximity to Sarah Nixey.

The first single from the album, Happiness, starts with a melancholic guitar and drum arrangement and develops into an ever more maddening viola crescendo, with Dench's guitars somehow (live as well as in the studio) covering the normal bass role more than adequately.

I Saw You is a remarkable contrast to much of the rest of the album, being optimistic with it's major scales and mimsy lyrics, but much darkness inhabits the space in between, especially Little Boulders and Watches Of Switzerland.

Anyone familiar with Luke Haines or Beth Orton should have no problem with this album and, with gems like Little Boulders and Happiness, you may just be tempted to play it several times in one sitting. Well, what's the problem with that?

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end of year feature musicOMH's 50 Best Albums Of 2009 From the nearly 700 albums we reviewed this year, which did our writers love the most? Introduction 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 20-11 | 10-4 | 1-3