Almost Home

The folk-pop troupe Keston Cobblers Club return here with their third album. Since they released Wildfire in 2015, these Kentish folksters have built an impressive fan base across the UK on the back of infectious hooks, slick vocal harmonies and genre-hopping chops. But while the five-piece invite comparisons to the likes of Beirut, Bon Iver and the Fleet Foxes, the Cobblers are distinctive for their inclination to celebration rather than melancholy.

Almost Home is no exception. The 12 tracks on offer here touch upon the concept of home and family, and are driven forward by clever combinations of lyrics and instrumentation. One such example, ‘On Your Own’, overlays ingenious dovetailed vocal lines with synth pads, brass stabs, rhythmic electric guitar and jocular percussion. The deft songwriting of the duet ‘Martha & Giles’ and the quirky ‘Hand That Feeds You’ are also notable. But while the bunch clearly know their pop craft, it's hard to hear the ‘simplicity of songwriting’ that lead singer Matthew Lowe has suggested was the band's aim for this album – a simplicity often found in their charming early EPs. Nonetheless, fans will be rewarded with a dozen more foot-stompers.