Hafdis Huld - Darkest Night 
Release Date: Out Now
Some artists you look to for the party vibes, others for cathartic anger and there are even those that soundtrack your romantic moments in life but for beauty we turn to Hafdis Huld. The Icelandic solo artist's new album, 'Darkest Night', opens with the title track and a rolling, countrified acoustic riff and a vocal recorded with such intimacy that you can hear each lip smack until the percussion joins in to add the feeling that you're on a small boat fighting the waves. 'Bats' follows the same musical theme but with a lighter spirit and a greater sense of hope before 'Hindsight' opens with the line "I choose to believe there is good in everyone" which tells you everything you need to know about the spirit and downright purity of this song.
On 'Blind Spot' the impish vocal and delicately deft guitar playing is mesmerising while 'All Alone' has a Jack Johnson quality to the guitar playing but those vocals add a real sense of icy cool that blossoms into warmth when the strings join in. The lazy lilt of 'Salt' is almost lullaby-esque, 'Slice of Paradise' is a fluttering, love-struck, holiday romance of a song and 'Broken Hearts' is country music story telling at it's best. This trio of songs shows just how brilliantly diverse Huld's songwriting can be but also how she can turn her hand to a range of styles with consummate ease.
The penultimate track is 'Winter' which sprinkled with frost and a blanket of snow but complete with that sense of Hygge that makes our colder months seem that much more enjoyable. The album closes out on 'Softer Shade of Blue', a breathy and electro inspired slow burner that eases you in gently. So, like I said, there's a beauty to the music of Hafdis Huld that is innate and irresistible so why would you even want to resist?
More information: https://www.facebook.com/Hafdismusic