One of my new music sources was bigging this album up on Twitter, so I gave it a blast on Spotify. I had two run-throughs and placed my order on the HMV website for this beautiful-looking splatter version.
Coburn is a supremely talented young singer-songwriter from Middlesbrough who caught the ear of Bill Ryder-Jones at the English Folk Expo's Artist Mentoring Scheme. He was so impressed with her that he agreed to produce this, her debut album.
It is essentially a folk album, but with the former Coral man twiddling the production knobs, there is a nice pop twang across the record. Tracks like 'Perfect Storm' and 'Sleepy Town' remind me of the early KT Tunstall tracks, which is very much a good thing, in my opinion.
More traditional folk songs are on the record, like 'When The Tide Rolls In' and 'Dublin Serenade,' which beautifully recounts a 24-hour trip Coburn took to Ireland, where she talked with the locals, took in the city and drank Guinness.
Then there are tracks like 'See Saw, ' which is more challenging to pin down. Half nursery rhyme, half waltz, it is unnerving in a good way. I reckon its lyrics about witchcraft and heresy make it perfect for a dark, period drama.
Elsewhere, 'Sandra' is a beautiful song about a horrible topic. Lush strings play as Coburn's soaring vocal describes the true life story of a woman dealing with an abusive, alcoholic ex-husband. The delivery and production are so good that I missed the topic the first few times I listened to it.
My favourite track on the record is probably 'Oh Captain! Guide Me Home'. Her voice is stunning on the track, and, yet again, so is the production.
I went for the splatter vinyl, but, in hindsight, I should have picked up the regular black version. I've had a couple of records like this where there is a bit of surface noise. Usually, this isn't much of an issue, but it is noticeable on this album, with its sparse instrumentation and delicate vocals.
It is available on this splatter, yellow or traditional vinyl from HMV for £25 if you fancy a copy.
Tracks To Try: ‘When The Tide Rolls In’, ‘Nodding Dog’, ‘Dublin Serenade’, ‘Oh Captain!, Guide Me Home’, ‘Sleepy Town’, ‘See Saw’, ‘Sandra’