Fish Records - THE HAVENOTS

Full Review

The Havenots – Bad Pennies

After a couple of UK tours supporting The Be Good Tanyas, and various other well received shows The Havenots stock has been on the rise for the past year – the releases of their debut album more than delivers on the promise shown over the last few months.

The Leicester based duo are 22 year old Liam Dullaghan, and 19 year old Sophia Marshall, they write and perform material that belies their youth – it’s laid back and confident (almost in a Ron Sexsmith style), and has very loose connections with alt-country, but all attempts to pigeon hole this album will prove fruitless, it draws on many influences and sounds contemporary yet familiar – a wonderful combination.

Vocals are shared throughout with each taking the lead at times, but they sound at their best when singing together, Sophia has a versatile, clear and expressive voice that is experienced well beyond her years, whereas Liam has an effortlessly smooth and lazy delivery. The two compliment each other perfectly, and when singing together the combination works incredibly well.

Musically this is fairly restrained, they both play guitars and there are three other musicians (guitar, bass & percussion), but impressively there’s plenty of open space for the lyrics and vocals to standout.

The 10 songs are all excellent; the album opens with the relaxed languor of ‘Sin’ a real mood setter for what’s to follow, ‘All the Wrong Wounds’ and ‘Evergreen’ are two strong and laid back tracks about relationships, while ‘Sweetness and Light’ and ‘Run for Colour’ show they are equally comfortable with more upbeat material.

This is a wonderful disc, and one of the very best debut albums ever to come our way – mature, assured and considered but with a distinct individual feel. Expect to hear much more of these guys in the future. Highly recommended.

THE HAVENOTS - BAD PENNIES

The Havenots