The World Is Flat

iTunes Review

Mark Tranmer and Roger Quigley’s second album as the Montgolfier Brothers is, like its predecessor Seventeen Stars, a wonderfully contemplative work that rests on spiraling guitar pieces and lush keyboards that occasionally recede to allow singer Roger Quigley to lay out his poetic view of the world without a wall of sound to battle. The title track is an elegant piece of restraint where the duo plays as if sitting around the parlor. “Swings and Roundabouts” is the sound of Parisian pop with the pop removed and replaced with classical aspirations. The instrumental pieces —“The Second Takes Forever,” “Dream In Organza,” “Think Once More” — showcase Tranmer’s subtle works. It’s not a surprise that the band would be likened to the 4AD roster, since surely fans of Red House Painters and the Durutti Column would find kindred souls here. But the Montgolfier Brothers never indulge in those reverb shadows. Their precision is key. One can just as easily hear a solidarity between MB and Belle & Sebastian, though each band is clearly remarkable and singular in their own way.