Fifth Daughter
Stellar Season (black)
Fifth Daughter are new to Fruits de Mer, 'Stellar Season' is their first LP; they describe themselves as progressive/psychedelic rock and their music as an "eclectic mix of prog, psych and acid folk, very much inspired by the likes of Jade Warrior, Jimmie Spheeris, VdGG and Incredible String Band"... They are a duo (what's this with FdM and duos?) - Nicholas Whittaker and James Howarth; Nick is best known as a member of the highly-rated progressive rock band Diagonal, while James was a member of Running Dogs, and has collaborated with the KLF and Martin "Youth" Glover; his last live performance was a headlining slot at Ronnie Scott's, on bass. 'Stellar Season' was conceived as a loose concept album during one of the covid lockdowns, with Whittaker sketching out the basics of a story about a rural society far from Earth whose obsession with summer leads to an endless day that they soon regret, learning to appreciate the rhythm of the seasons in the process. Knowing the talent of his old friend as a songwriter and bassist, Whittaker brought Howarth in to collaborate on the songs. The recordings were completed over several sessions from 2021 to 2023. The album features fellow Diagonal band members Luke Foster and Dave Wileman as well as ambient guitarist Will Howes. The album explores a range of emotions, from tender to euphoric; it's instrumentally adventurous, featuring exotic percussion, sitar and synthesisers alongside acoustic guitars, woodwinds and vocals.