For Breakfast - Longer Than Spring

Coming out of North London, For Breakfast released a phenomenal EP in 2022, Trapped in the Big Room. They have been in hibernation since, so I haven’t really been able to crow about them so much, but for my money, they are the most slept-on band in the world; that must change now.

Listening to as much new music as I do, I want to be challenged as much as impressed, and this does both in abundance. Drawing from innumerable genres, there are strong elements of prog, folk, and psyche; it’s provocative at all times. As a listener, you spend your time on tenterhooks, wondering where the track will take you next. This is high-art rock and, for me, aural perfection.

Singer Maya Harrison is a revelation. Beset by a cycle of illness and recovery for the past decade, there’s something haunting about her vocal delivery. Joy and sorrow are etched into every note. You can hear her clinging on in desperation, beseeching “Little bird, I’m so tired” on the title track and bringing an undeniable gravitas to every song.

The instrumentation is incredible. Patient, dramatic, wistful, dynamic. There has clearly been considerable time spent teasing out the minutiae so that every facet is just so. It is also given equal billing within the tracks, allowed to build organically with Maya entering the fore when appropriate.

This album is a genuine no-skips long player, an absolute treasure, and I’m “Happy you’re by my side”.

Check out For Breakfast’s visualiser video!