Nested In Tangles
by Hannah Frances

There's a popular idea that you should start your album with the three best tracks, Hannah Frances does exactly that here. Nested In Tangles kicks off with some of the most vibrant folk songs I've heard in a long long time (I might have to think back to The Milk Eyed Mender before I reach something with as much character as this), combining more complicated arrangements with Frances' strong vocals. On a track like 'Life's work' guitar, brass and almost yelped vocals mix together into a really energetic song, whereas 'Falling From and Further' splits these up, starting with calm and heartfelt americana before an orchestral section takes centre stage. It's an audacious move from a confident artist and it really shouldn't work, but it just kind of does. Things calm in the middle section for a decent change of pace, a couple of short instrumentals are maybe placed a little close together, but the post rock sound of 'A Body, a Map' leads nicely into the more electric guitar dominated 'Surviving You'. The final tracks are still strong but aren't hitting me in quite the same way as the earlier ones, though they do seem the type to grow on you, I'll listen some more and maybe this rating will go up.