Holly Macve

Golden Eagle

Irish-born, Yorkshire-raised debutante takes country back to the source. Holly Macve’s plaintive cover of Melanie’s We Don’t Know Where We’re Going suggested a singer-songwriter road-less-travelled by 21st century standards. Likewise, her voice, which sounds much older than her 20 years and echoes the Appalachian-tinged old-timers Patsy Cline and Kitty Wells, and Tarnation’s comparable Paula Frazer, all framed by the pared-down boniness of Leonard Cohen, Johnny Cash (two of her mum’s faves), and Gillian Welch. It’s route one to the heartstrings. Macve’s backstory – her parents’ divorce when she was very young; a premature fear of death; a brutal end to her first love affair – gets the sobbing melodies it deserves, especially on Shell and Timbtuktu. The title track, written for her beloved granddad, unfurls over six minutes; with four more tracks exceeding five minutes, she’s clearly not afraid to prolong the exquisite agony and, selfishly, you hope Macve never cheers up. Martin Aston