Abigail Blake - Birdcage EP
9/10
Using a harp with loop and effect pedals, and harnessing her recording skills and love of electronic music, Abigail creates in this new collection a beguiling environment where purity of voice and production skills complement with contemporary appeal.
The title track lures us in with soothing harp arpeggios layered over gentle electronic chords, before revealing that this is a fighting song about escaping traps of the past for a confident new day.
Liar uses a stuttering dubstep beat to hit back at those who have let her down, and whilst Under The Tide allows the folk sensitivities of the harp to shine through in a style reminiscent of Joanna Newsome, the sound is underpinned by that new-found electronic symbiosis. No wonder Abigail has named this unique new sound 'Twinklestep'.
The final track is the poignant Want Me, paradoxically describing with brooding backbeat that certain moment when you finally realise that a relationship is coming to an end.
However, the strength that shines through from this entire collection proves Abigail's career is most certainly on the ascendency. As the cover declares, “All tracks written, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered by Abigail Blake”. That is the confident and assured world of one bright young talent.
9/10
