The Hunters In The Snow

2018 release. As opening lines to albums go, quot;You may look at me and think the lord employed a fool to sit around and sing of nothing,quot; is a bold offering, but what R W Hedges lacks in warm introductions they more than make-up for in sweet and intriguing folk songs, their album, The Hunters In The Snow, crafting subtle adventures that make for an immersive and often revelatory journey through various musical landscapes that rise and fall throughout, shifting in the light as they roll forward, restful and restrained. The album is quietly dominated by it's own restraint, the pair's love for the easy listening era of the 1950s and '60s filtered through a keen ear for doo-wop and rhythm-and-blues, resulting in an album that finds a place all of it's own in the hustle and bustle of this new world; existing as a tender escape from the busy London world that underpinned it's creation, full of quaint retreats and charming idiosyncrasies. Taking it's dues from The Beatles and The Kinks, among other quintessentially distinctive British pop bands, The Hunters In The Snow weaves varying literary references - from Dickens and Dylan Thomas to Shakespeare - through it's pastoral and patterned guitar landscapes, Hedges English lilt adding a palpable sense of poignancy to otherwise bright surroundings, the album always balancing the breeziness of the compositions with a dark turn-of-phrase that makes you re-evaluate your own place within these songs.