Smoke Fairies
‘Through Low Light And Trees’
(V2)

As if ethereal opener ‘Summer Fades’ doesn’t make it obvious enough, the decaying gloom of autumn hangs heavy over ‘Through Low Light and Trees’ – the debut from madrigal folkrock maidens, Smoke Fairies. Befitting of the crumbling September leaves their sound evokes, Smoke Fairies’ main animus lies within the darkness of distance, heartache and loneliness – whether it’s geographical (‘Hotel Room’) or the knifetwist of sudden change (‘Erie Lackawanna’ – about the reality of old age). It serves to create a haunting piece of work that tends to float by lethargically but every once in a while presents a spectral songcraft executed beautifully along the border of traditional English folk and Neil Young-esque Americana blues. Lovely stuff.

Stephen Kelly