Velvet & Stone – Embers EP
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| Velvet & Stone - Embers EP |
Release Date: Out Now
I’ve had a vague awareness of
Exeter quartet Velvet & Stone for a while, like that person you see every
day on the bus but you never really take the time to absorb them. Then, like
that stranger sitting down next to you to talk to you, Velvet & Stone went
and dropped their EP in to my inbox and suddenly all is clear. ‘Ragged Wood’ is
as a beautiful an opening to any record as I’ve heard in a long time with its
tender, haunting notes that snake like early morning mist round decades old
tomb stones and dew-covered grass. The delicately plucked strings interplay
with their smooth, sliding counterparts and the chime of a distant bell.
Continuing the after-life vibe is ‘Raise Your Ghosts’ which has a more optimistic
sound complete with a driving beat and the assured, Country-esque vocals of
Lara Snowdon.
The EP title track, ‘Embers’,
takes the pace down a notch again as warmly delicate piano notes are woven
together by silken violin notes before a celtic inspired rhythm starts to
emerge and you feel a sense of raw emotion start to swell within you – now,
which emotion that is will depend on your state of mind but for me, right now,
it’s a sense of life affirming gratitude towards the universe. The EP closes
with ‘Trouble’, a song that has flashes of Ben Howard and Ed Sheeran in its
fiercely plucked guitar strings and insistent beat that builds to a triumphant
climax. The truly wonderful thing about Velvet & Stone is their ability to
adapt and switch styles and that is reflected in the fact that they describe
their genre as indie-folk AND contemporary AND alt-classical. This is a hugely
impressive EP but I suspect this is only the tip of an even more impressive
iceberg.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/velvetstonemusic
Live Dates:
3rd September – The Fleece, Bristol
13th October – EP Launch @ The Bike Shed Theatre,
Exeter
2nd November – The Prince Albert, Stroud
3rd November – Comfy & Acoustic, Coventry
w/Speak, Brother