Nineteen years old and with an individual sense of humour of the sort that seems prevalent among most north-eastern musicians, Newcastle's Beth Jeans Houghton could easily be dismissed as a runt of the freak-folk litter that have well passed, what with her barmid dresses, big blonde afro wig, embellished biography and predilection for considering small amounts of paint to be plenty to wear on the top half when being photographed, but her music, and moreover her voice, belies all that. Achingly romantic, these chamber folk compositions could as easily have been handed down from Denny, Bunyan and Mitchell as exist only in the same time as Newsom and Marling, existing in their own mindset of gossamer arrangements and vocals that range from plangent and mournful to joyously soaring. Recording an album with Ben Hillier, it's critical that she gets to strike that balance right between her playful experimental pop edge and this instantly winning cloak of loveliness even in trying circumstances. Unlikely as it seems, her claimed top influence is Peter Sarstedt. Well, we know exactly where this lovely's going to.
Beth Jeans Houghton - Lilliput (live on BBC 6 Music)
Originally posted by The Daily Growl
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