It's getting to the stage now (quite frequently) where there are young, talent artists coming along who are pretty much half my age, so as well as receiving visits from the green eyed monster and complaining at both my lack of talent and impending grey hairs, I'm coming to terms with seeing pubs and gigs full of people who weren't even born when I started .
The latest beguiling young talent to cross my path is Faye Rogers, a singer-songwriter from Swindon who released an EP Thunder last month (available on CD - remember those! - via Secret Chord Records). Her style of minimal acoustic folk isn't something you won't have heard before, let's face it every pub in every town has an acoustic night these days but instantly Faye stands out from the crowd. It's immediately apparent why, armed with a pure, crystal clear voice and lyrics with depth and scope for surpassing her teenage years.
The delicate and spare arrangements that propel "Thunder" allow that enchanting voice to shine through, simmering with honesty and charisma, it serves as a fine introduction to the release. Yet it's the next track that completely pulls me in, "Gathering Dust" recalls Daughter-esque intimacy, a heart-on-the-sleeve lament "how can you so easily dispose of me, now I'm left gathering dust" around carefully constructed acoustic guitar finger-picking, twinkling piano keys and cello. Similar comments could be said for the EP's stunning closing track "Canal Boats", combining layers of serene instrumentation with lyrics of great beauty that connect emotionally deep and remain with you long after your first play "remember all those years ago when I thought that you might be mine".
Faye's potential is confirmed with a handful of live recordings found online, I've posted a couple of tracks that aren't on the EP below, "Clutter" from a recent BBC session and "Forever" from a Sofar Sounds gig last year (two indications that word is spreading), her sweetly swooning vocals radiating like dew on a spring morning. Damn you talented kids!
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