The Eternal Rocks Beneath

Priddy’s Wolf EP appeared in 2018, garlanded with praise from Richard Thompson. She’s since played the stages of Cambridge and Towersey festivals, released a Valentine’s single and supported the likes of Thompson, Martin Carthy and The Chieftains. Now her long-awaited debut album comes, with ‘Wolf’ included. The song’s self-investigating, probing lyric addresses the wolf’s dark allure, at once repellent and compelling. It’s vivid, concise and revealing. You can see why Thompson admired it.

Opening song ‘Indigo’ is an embracing, unshadowed childhood pastoral, her fine, clear and resonant voice and adept acoustic setting steering it into a lush lyricism; it’s that lyrical richness, in word and music, that gives this album its power. There are songs about the Greek myth of Icarus, that eternal over-reacher, and Eurydice, with its stern warning about looking back flashing like a warning sign at the mouth of the cave, each stacked with big choruses and an epic, big-ballad reach as she finds and brings out the compelling stories within. Her narrative deftness shines all over this album. ‘Letters from a Travelling Man’ is a brilliant character song, complete with great pop hooks and a lean Americana setting, while darker highlights such as ‘Ring O’Roses’ are, like this album, not to be missed.