Oxford based four piece Stornoway are perhaps the perfect realisation of what outsiders think people from the dreaming spires are like; lyrics allude to days spent breathing in the rural beauty of the shire while embarking on pulse raising romantic encounters taking place in some kind of endless Indian summer. And while this admittedly pleasant idyll is some way from truth, Stornoway were clasped to the musical breast of Oxford some time ago and the city’s love for the band shows no sign of weakening despite the impending hugeness that seems inevitable in the wake of BBC Sound of 2010 votes and the announcement their debut would be released by the legendary 4AD label.

Beachcomber’s Windowsill opens with the almost gregorian choral backing vocals and exuberant brass of ‘Zorbing’; those that are familiar with the track already won’t be fooled by the claims that the song is about rolling around in a bubble; Brian Briggs thirst for knowledge finds him using all manner of metaphor and analogy for what are in truth an album’s worth of songs about “relationship issues.”

While Briggs vocal embrace of nature and commanding baritone is the focal point of the record, the instrumentation should not be overlooked. These are simple songs played by excellent musicians and it is easy take arrangements for granted when everything seems so perfectly placed that it just should be where it is.Much credit for this should go to Jon Owen who is the musical conscience of the record, popping up on keys, strings and guitar and giving Briggs arrangements greater breadth and form.

‘Fuel Up’ is a superb example of the band at their best; an entire life transposed to a car journey and features gorgeous organ and some extremely natty dulcimer work, it’s moments like this that show a lightness of touch and attention to detail that few match at such an early stage. Of course it helps that it’s followed by the absolute stand-out that is ‘The Coldharbour Road’ – a mournful yet somehow euphoric rumination on nature, love and the moment of realisation when you know there’s no point fighting something any longer and are content to just get swept along by it.

The only misfires are the somewhat glib “technology is bad – get outside” lyrics and the hoe-down stylings of ‘We Are The Battery Human’ and the closing ‘Long Distance Lullaby’ – which feels a slightly superfluous closer after the delicacy of the superior ‘End Of The Movie’.

Perhaps the most interesting moment on display here is ‘On The Rocks’, wide-screen, wide-eyed and itching to rock out, the track positively creaks into life before drums and guitars tumble while Briggs soaring vocals remain the constant as the crescendo builds.

Hype can be more of a curse than a blessing when it comes to indie music and while it’s nice to listen to records in a vacuum it sometimes just isn’t possible. Beachcomber’s Windowsill is a superb achievement, a record moulded in the band’s own image and one they will be deservedly proud of but still one which reads as a signpost as to what may come rather than a definitive statement.