About 'Benches':

Alex Huskisson from Severn FM says:

"...displays sun-drenched melodies and harmonies. There's something Brian Wilson-esque about the way the vocals pour out of the speakers. Melodic and uplifting."

Pure Pop Radio says: 

When I included Myrtle Park’s Fishing Club’s last album, Nothing to be Afraid Of, in my list of favorite records of the year in November 2014, I called it “…perhaps the brightest, most inventive, most sincere and happiest-sounding melodic work of the year.” And I was right, too.
I’m right now as well, calling this new release a monumentally towering testament to melodic and harmonic excellence. There is nothing quite like Kate Stephenson’s take on melodic pop music, just as there is nothing like her soaring imagination, her ability to express all manner of emotion, and make the listener feel. There is nothing quite like Myrtle Park’s Fishing Club.  

Clever lyrics, winsome melodies, and heaven-sent vocal harmonies abound. Songs like “Sun, Where’ve You Gone,” a plea to the reluctant big daddy of shining stars to stop hiding behind clouds and do its thing (“Face it you’re lazy/At best hazy from what I can see”) and the glorious “Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys,” about moving on and distinguishing oneself in the big, waiting world (“Checking out to find my rosebuds/Adios and toodle-oo/Not my circus, not my monkeys”) are just two examples of the level of Kate’s peerless songcraft.  

Kate’s three-dimensional harmony vocal stacks especially shine in two of this album’s best songs. “Somebody Called Me an Onion” is a smile-inducing, upbeat, energetic pop song with faux-reggae shadings about peeling back the layers to reveal the full, human package of emotion (“If I’m going to get rumbled down the line/My laundry’s hanging out there to dry”), and the delicious, a cappella “Silent Letter,” a song about inner beauty and the sanctity of thought that doesn’t always have to be laid bare in song (“There’s more real beauty in this/Than my voice could ever reveal”).  

These lovely creations, played to perfection by Kate and musical partner John Steel, will enrich your life in all sorts of meaningful ways. In popular art and in these songs played under the Myrtle Park’s Fishing Club banner, there is beauty and there is love. Just as Nothing to be Afraid Of shone brightly in 2014, Benches will shine when this year’s best albums are tallied in just a few months.

Alan Haber - Pure Pop Radio

Universal Soundscape says (Album of The Month Oct 2016):

Featuring Myrtle Park's Fishing Club's signature vocal sound and harmonies, 'Benches' is full to the brim with upbeat and instantly memorable pop songs.  Favourite tunes include the title track, 'Tissue' and 'What's The Worst That Can Happen?'.  Timeless, inventive and peerless songcraft. 

​'Benches' is a truly wonderful and uplifting album.  Pure audio sunshine to help brighten up the darkest and dreariest of autumn or winter days!

About 'Nothing To Be Afraid Of'  - one of Pure Pop Radio's top 20 favourite records of 2014:    

'A total surprise, this is perhaps the brightest, most inventive, most sincere and happiest-sounding melodic work of the year. Kate Stephenson, trading under the delightful band name Myrtle Park’s Fishing Club, had written a range of songs that recall the best of the Roches, the Dream Academy and Prefab Sprout, but come alive as uniquely her own creations. The deeply-felt, dense harmonies alone are more than worth the price of admission. Plus, the artwork and hand-lettered lyrics in the accompanying booklet prove that the album package is still alive out there in the world. One of the most truly special albums of this or any other year."    

Alan Haber