Blueflint - High Bright Morning

With First Aid Kit spearheading the current 'traditional' revival within mainstream folk, the time seems ripe for talented Edinburgh duo Blueflint to cross over into the indie realm. Blueflint's trademark bluegrass twin banjo sound not only conjures up echoes of Gillian Welch (the wonderful I Like The Way and Funny Little Girl), but also the dark underbelly of folk, with Deborah Arnott and Clare-Louise Neilson being as comfortable discussing the dead below our feet (the minimalist banjo-plucked What Lies Beneath) as they are with raising a glass to a good night out (Where Does it All Disappear To?). Accidental though it may be, their darker moments - such as Bony Johnson - eerily evoke PJ Harvey's recent output. However, while Polly Jean stomps her trademark into whichever genre she mines, Blueflint are simply intent to layer their crisp, vaporous vocals in understated two-part harmonies, like alluring sirens drawing you into a beguiling world. [Ewen Millar]