Babitha’s debut album Brighter Side of Blue (Spunk), released earlier this year, is a superb album that weaves an intoxicating spell. Songwriter/singer/guitarist Imogen Grist stretches the form of folk music, taking it deeper into a full band, folk-rock cul-de-sac that feels decidedly metropolitan – a pastoral trip through suburban streets.

Seemingly arriving fully formed, Babitha weaves a lush and dreamy mix of heady, heartfelt melodies and dreamy twang. The sound of coastal breezes, desert shimmer and city laneways. Its sophisticated blend mixes 70s pop rock, folk-rock and cosmic Americana. Think Chrissie Hynde and Marlon Williams on a songwriting retreat with Big Thief and The Delines.

Songs such as ‘Only Fair’, ’Night and Day’, ‘Ants’, ’In My Own Time’ and the Crazy Horse grandeur of ‘Fade Away’ possess a timeless quality built on mood and groove that leave you feeling like you’ve heard them in a past life. Right across the album there are melodic touchstones that act as the sonic conduits between the ethereal atmospherics and dreamily upbeat aspects of the Babitha sound. Utterly captivating.

Chris Familton