EP Review: Songs of Solitude

Velvet Arrow are creative musician/producer Dan Stenhouse and songwriter Hannah Jane, who both hail from Northland and came together as a duo in 2017. This four-track EP demonstrates that here is a band who approaches music with an unusual mix of Alt-Folk and Dark Country, capturing the listener from the beginning and rarely letting them go.

Both are strong singers, and they share the leads and harmonies, with Dan’s somewhat darker and more powerful vocals both contrasting and combining well with Hannah’s emotional tones. Although there are times when they may just be using acoustic guitars, with some electric for added effect, there is also use of banjo and cello which works very well indeed. Although there are times when this feels quite simple, it is the strength of the arrangements which provides this illusion, as in fact there is a great deal going on behind the voices.

Obviously, their choice of material shows some of their influences, but it would be very easy to add The Pogues into this (the more restrained version), however, the band they reminded me most of was Alabama 3, with the same strange gothic take on country which feels somehow wrong but also so right at the same time. It feels very cinematic, as if we are being taken on a journey across the plains late at night, with music which leaves the listener wanting much more.

Once the four-track 15-minute long EP has finished there is a real sense of loss and longing, and the only thing to do is to keep it on repeat. One can only hope there is a full-length album coming soon, as having now been introduced to the delights of Velvet Arrow I really want to hear a great deal more.