The Steals – Static Kingdom

The debut album from this Northern English quartet is so delicately poised it threatens to blow away on the slightest breeze; listening, you feel you have to hold your breath lest you miss something. Singer Jayn Hanna’s voice floats and glides on the same streams as HMS Ginafore, Alela Diane or First Aid Kit, and it’s matched perfectly by Mark Peters’ (of Engineers) production, which occasionally lets the simple fretwork and drum patterns swell into spellbinding, shoegazey mini-epics. It’s with these numbers that The Steals stand out from the rest of the new folk-pack, especially on plaintive opener Hope and moving closer All Coming Back, which lets a flickering organ build before clouds of gentle feedback bring it all back down. The middle order is a bit more recognisably folky, but there’s enigma enough to ensure the lasting impression is one of uncommon beauty. [Euan Ferguson]