Love Is Here

1	Tie Up My Hands 5:46
2	Poor Misguided Fool 3:51
3	Alcoholic 2:56
4	Lullaby 4:13
5	Way to Fall 4:29
6	Fever 4:03
7	She Just Wept 4:12
8	Talk Her Down 4:11
9	Love Is Here 4:41
10	Good Souls 4:53
11	Coming Down 14:30

Barnes & Noble

Sensitive guys have had a hard time getting heard the last few years, what with the outpouring of nu-metal and ever-more-aggressive hip-hop. Starsailor frontman James Walsh (who's about as heart-on-sleeve sensitive as they come) isn't likely to be ignored, however, as long as he maintains the in-your-face tenor displayed on the much-hyped Brit band's debut disc. Walsh possesses a rangy, ethereal voice (pitched somewhere between Morrissey and Jeff Buckley) that alternately captivates and exasperates, depending on how in control he chooses to be. Love Is Here isn't overtly arty, relying on traditionally structured alterna-pop songs with plenty of guitar jangle and the occasional piano tinkle. The sadness that permeates the disc is striking in the current chart climate, as is the album’s slightly addled mentality (abundantly evident in "Alcoholic" and the murky "Coming Down"). The wan backing, which often consists of little more than spare guitar or piano lines, may try the patience of some, but the low-key arrangements make the more aggressively strummed folk-rocker "Poor Misguided Fool" and the edgy "Talk Her Down" soar that much more. Without those changes of pace, the songs risk blurring into a somewhat monochromatic portrait of the artist as a depressed young man -- albeit a depressed young man with enough winsome charm to cause a stir. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Starsailor was already a critic's darling in the band's native England during mid-2001, and the group's painfully melodic debut, Love Is Here, poised the band to rise in the shadows of Doves, Coldplay, and Travis. Starsailor, however, isn't as polished as its counterparts, but that's not to say Love Is Here isn't a beautiful piece of work. It's less lilting than Coldplay's Parachutes, and frontman James Walsh's aching vocals shape his angularity as a singer/songwriter. Starsailor is a young band, and Love Is Here illustrates the group's sharp intellect inside basic acoustics. Singles such as the passionately violent "Alcoholic" and melancholic dark hues of "Fever" touch upon Starsailor's own pop stylings. The band isn't typically jaunty, for the members of Starsailor are a bit cynical. Lyrics reflect battles with self-discovery, independence, and being lovelorn; however, they're matches of a survivor. "Talk Her Down," one of the album's most gnarling tracks, bounces with light psychedelic patterns, and "Good Souls" is probably Starsailor's closest rock & roll moment. The live soundscape found on Love Is Here sets up the simplistic beauty of this new band. They didn't go for a grand bombast of crashing guitars and angst-ridden stories similar to Oasis and Manic Street Preachers. They go for something more positive as well -- each song soars with intricate musicianship and melodic lushness. Wigan native Richard Ashcroft would be pleased. MacKenzie Wilson

Blender

A striking debut. David Quantick