Night Hours

This is the second studio album from the young Bristol folk duo. It is a well-judged collection that feels very timely in its preoccupation with the working poor, and of economic and ecological instability. Pithy observations about modern life blend seamlessly with traditional material, delivered with rare poise and delicate musicianship. The sound is given deeper texture by the addition of Dominic Henderson's uilleann pipes and whistles, Tommie Black-Roff's accordion and fiddler James Gavin.

Sid Goldsmith's beautiful guitar melody is a recurring hook that makes the opener ‘Night Hours’ a special song. What particularly stands out on all the self-penned numbers is the duo's rare ability to treat contemporary subject matter effectively in folk music. ‘The Ballad of Yorkley Court’, a recent Diggers-esque tale from the Forest of Dean, has the ring of authenticity. The lyrics clearly depict the present day, yet in the language and the tone, the duo conjures the timelessness of the English workers’ protest movement. Original material is mixed with classics such as the majestic ‘Shallow Brown’, a West Indian shanty that feels like a birth song of the blues, paired with a loping, sparse take on ‘Jackie Tar’ and ‘Willie O’ the Winsbury’, a remake of the Child ballad with a poetic closing line – ‘and he's made her the lady of as much land as she’ll ride in a summer's day’, followed by rippling banjo. The banjo is the key instrument, bringing an evocative lightness of touch to the music of this album.