WILL McNICOL

MINIATURES willmcnicol.co.uk 8/10

This album began to take shape when Will became interested in short form composition – little musical snapshots with tales to tell. “I rather naively thought these would be easier to record as they’re only short,” he tells us. “Oh, how wrong I was. If anything they ended up being more challenging!” Will acted as composer, guitar player, recording engineer and producer on the project and the attention to detail and quality here shows that his efforts were thoroughly worthwhile. There are 13 solo acoustic compositions here, plus three bonus tracks that feature collaborations with others. The album’s breezy opener, Cessna soundtracks an “exhilarating flight over the New Hampshire countryside,” and Two Days In November is a sombre recollection of how Covid restrictions prevented Will from being present at the birth of his son last year. It’s a beautiful collection, especially our standout track, Arthur’s Lullaby.[DM]