The Black Feathers new album ´Soaked to the Bone´ is out on February 26th, and is an intricate and lovely folk album. Strangely like the delicate love child of Damien rice and Dolly Parton, the record combines beautiful harmonies, solemn guitar lines and an American twang. 

The fiddle which runs through much of the album sores about the vocals, whilst the cello in other songs resonantly grounds the piece. The use of instrumentation throughout is extremely effect, balancing well and adding beautiful touches here and there, helping to keep each song different and enjoyable. This is clear in one of the more upbeat pieces ´Down by the river´, which takes full advantage of a country influence with great effect.

´Arclight´ is another highlight of the album, with the picked guitar line and combination of the singer’s voices work together in a wonderfully sombre relationship. This is picked up in various places throughout the whole album, with both voices playing off each other. Traditionally adding a string section into this, one of the saddest of the album, develops a very emotive tone, (this is certainly a song that can be used if anyone is ever in need of a good cry).

Whilst this album does not necessarily broach completely new ground (in particular the cover of ´Make you feel my love´ edging into overdone), the combination of instruments, harmonies and the topics are well tread in the world of folk music. ‘Soaked to the Bone’ is however well done, and proves that rough sounding fiddle and intricate guitar lines are still as good as ever.

Written by Molly Lempriere