Rob Snarski: Low Fidelity (Songs By Request Volume 1)

Among the experiences available to pledgers were Snarski walking dogs, cooking vegetarian frittatas and recording cover songs on his iPhone by request, with the latter resulting in his new release. Low Fidelity (Songs By Request Volume 1) is all in the title: a compilation of these stripped-back covers performed in true solo mode – just Snarski, an acoustic guitar and the occasional instrumental layer provided by Shane O’Mara.

Snarski’s fans are clearly well-rounded folk, with the requested covers ranging from Elton John to Spiritualized and Pulp, and all songs are inexplicably made his own. Snarski’s vocals shine through the album, incredibly powerful and affecting even in these bare-boned covers. However, the sparseness created by the nature of the project, the mode of recording, and the slow tempo maintained throughout the whole album make the overall listening experience of these 18 songs a little difficult. As a serving suggestion, listening to the record in instalments would be the best way to savour these beautiful songs.

Low Fidelity is a rich collection of covers – just better listened to in increments.