Joanne Robertson grew up amidst the carnal circus atmosphere of Blackpool, United Kingdom. Her work is glorious in its simplicity and its purity; the guitar/ vocal only approach allows you the space to hear just how well-placed every last note is.

The debut solo release The Lighter (by Textile Records) is individual enough to demonstrate quite clearly that the force is strong in this one. Joanne Robertson’s musical background is in noisy experimental rock band I Love Lucy and as part of Mememe.

This, her first solo effort, retains the spirit of experimentation but operates in a more stripped-down, ethereal sphere than you might expect. There’s much in common with folk music, but hers are altogether more individual compositions as opposed to part of any particular folk tradition.

Robertson may hail from Blackpool, but the tones of this record suggest the echoes of the midday blues in the Louisiana swamplands with the humidity draping a grim sense of anticipation over everything.

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