Stephen Fretwell - Scar

“Supernaturally talented…he’s ready for the commercial leap forward” ****album review for Man on the Roof - Q Magazine

“A superb storyteller” – The Times

“Fretwell is magic…remember this boy’s name” - NME

“A secret worth hearing” - Uncut

“Like Jeff Buckley, he exudes musical sophistication, but like Neil Finn he has headspinning tunes as well” – Evening Standard

Stephen Fretwell releases his sophomore album Man On The Roof 10 September on Fiction. Recorded in New York with producer Eli Janney, these 14 songs are the follow up to Fretwell’s gold-selling debut of 2004, Magpie. First single - the up-beat and optimistic Scar – is released 3 September.

Scar will be made available digitally 20 Aug - iTunes exclusive 27 Aug, MSN exclusive 3 Sept. CD & 7” singles each have an exclusive B-side.

The album will be released on CD & heavyweight vinyl (includes exclusive bonus track). iTunes deluxe album includes exclusive bonus track and Four Letter Words short film.

Stephen Fretwell was born in Scunthorpe in 1981, a fact that belies the maturity and worldliness of his song-writing. These days, he's mostly resident in Manchester, but he liked New York so much he decided to make his second album there. Man On The Roof will surprise people. It's not as melancholy as Magpie, but it’s just as beguiling. This means the lugubrious sway of Coney; the romantic The Ground Beneath Your Feet, "about redemption, about being saved by a woman"; while Funny Hat and William Shatner's Dog are both about the same person. Sleep and Coney concern adultery in body and mind respectively, while the couples in Bumper Cars and Darlin' Don't struggle to get past whatever first base is.

Since the beginning of 2007 Fretwell has been consistently touring and playing festival dates. He also released a limited edition EP Four Letter Words of tracks taken from the New York recording sessions as a taster of the wonderful album to come.

This October Stephen will be heading out on the road again to give his UK fans their first proper chance to spend some quality time with material from 'Man On The Roof'.

A secret London roof gig will launch the album, and Stephen will also play small, exclusive gigs for Q magazine (who have already given the album a four star review), Amazon and XFM around release. He will make various instore appearances in London & Manchester, and podcasts for Q and The Times will run week of album release.

Be the first to review this record. Best reviewer each month gets £10 off their next order!