The low-key, beautifully arranged indie-folk of Yorkshire 17-year-old Isabella Tweddle’s debut album, reminiscent of Lucy Rose and the young Laura Marling, will draw inevitable cries of “old soul”. In truth though, Writing of Blues and Yellows, although musically miles above the average tremulous, John Lewis-y singer-songwriter sort, has the limited palette of juvenilia; no humour, little anger, just delicate, pastel wistfulness. Tweddle’s lyrics are rich and nervily self-analytical – “What would life be like/ With a lionheart inside”, Lionhearted wonders, while Teeth deals arrestingly with mental health struggles – and Milk and Honey shows spirit. But the blanket pretty melancholy gets suffocating. There’s surely better to come, though.
