Album Review: Spaces

I’ve been stuck in a music rut as of late. I’ve been finding myself reviewing the same genre of music for a while now so, I figured I was in drastic need of a change, and boy did I find what I was looking for in folk duo Eyreton Hall.

Eyreton Hall is primarily (although they do play with other members and special guests) made up of Andrew Keegan and Toni Randle originally hail from Sydney and Christchurch, and currently reside in Auckland.  I found their sound to be refreshingly different.

I sat down to listen to their latest album Spaces with no previous knowledge of them, so I had no idea what to expect and I can honestly tell you I loved it.

Albatross is the current single release off this album, I found it to be wonderfully melodic and very visually descriptive, the chorus in particular “so you are the albatross, came down in the caul of love, derived from Prometheus, a sailor with a swallow tattoo, many miles brought you here to us.” Albatrosses are big birds, so the imagery of the chorus is particularly striking for me personally, and I can almost smell the sea air while picturing it.

Constant is another song that I was drawn to from the second it started playing. Toni’s voice beautifully flows over a slower tempo with lyrics that appear to be filled with sorrow, repeatedly asking the question that we’ve all asked ourselves from time to time “who will be my constant?”
It tugs at the heartstrings in the best way, and then, just when you think it couldn’t possibly get any better, the violin kicks in and it lifts the track to an entirely new level.

Goodnight is another amazing track, it has a more upbeat tempo than the other previously mentioned tracks, and it somewhat reminds me of Mumford & Sons. I found the lyrics to be rather cheeky causing me to chuckle while listening to it “tomorrow you’ll be restless you’ll be chaffing at the bit, I’ll put panties in your pocket and a promise on your lips.”

Do yourself a favour and take the time to listen to Eyreton Hall’s new album – you won’t regret it.