Folk rock has been enjoying something of a resurgence in recent times; with bands such as London alt-folk trio Bears Den and, more locally, Fife based Break the Butterfly stepping up to propel the genre forward.
Edinburgh’s The Deadly Winters have joined the movement, and with their latest EP, Table in the Corner, the five-piece prove that progressive Scottish folk music can have universal appeal.
Masterful song writing and vocals from Christopher Blair weave a series of elaborate and vivid tales of love, loss and heartbreak, tinged with humour, as lyrical story telling is set to solid folk rock melodies.
Title track, ‘Table in the Corner’ eases the listener into the record with traditional folk fashionings and an emphasis on hooky melodies and masterful vocal harmonies.
Sliding the scale from folk to rock, ‘Liars, Liars, Liars’ is driven by fast-paced looping guitar and percussion as Blair spits out the repeated chorus lyrics and the track gathers momentum.
Continuing in the story-telling tradition, ‘Sam Did Run’ artfully paints an emotive picture of a young soldier’s experience of war, while ‘Gone to Ground’ combines folk and rock in equal parts in a neat culmination of the previous three tracks.
The Deadly Winters know their chosen genre intimately well and use a clever and considered range of vocal and instrumental styles to create an undeniably appealing and really very catchy folk-rock record.
Words: Kat McNicol
