Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin started out as buskers and went on to win best duo at last year’s BBC folk awards, thanks to their multi-instrumental work, vocals and songwriting. Now they have moved on, with double bass and drums bringing a more robust edge to the atmospheric swirl of Henry’s dobro, harmonica and guitar, and Martin’s fiddle and banjo. Their last studio album, Mynd, was concerned with history and women’s stories, but the new songs deal with change and decision, many written “with a specific person in mind”. The result is an emotional, personal set in which imagery from nature is matched against the story of a breakup (Letter) or an attack on Ukip (Stones). The best songs are left until last, from the pained Foundling to London, a story of escape from Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries, and Taxis, an unexpectedly thoughtful, autobiographical piece written on the M5.
