London – For The Company marks the full-length recording debut of the Australian trio, Little May, recently caught on tour by BestNewBands in London. The 13-song collection reprises two songs (“Hide” and “Boardwalks”) from the band’s 2014 EP, though sadly omits my personal favourite, “Dust”. The EP created waves of expectancy, although it served as more of a snapshot of where Little May was at musically rather than perhaps where it was going. With the addition of The National’s Aaron Dessner in the production chair, Little May’s core folk sound has been fleshed out and polished, enhancing drama and presence without losing its gossamer moments. Vocally the trio, led by Hannah Field for the most part but with singer/guitarists Liz Drummond and Annie Hamilton also much to the fore, mesh seamlessly and is not afraid to employ the maxim of less is more.
The clean-toned, picked guitar that heralds opening track, “Cicadas”, creates a lush, warm mood evocative of habitat of the titular creatures, while Hannah Field’s sinuous drawl adds a further sensual note as she reflects on a love yet to be fulfilled. The occasional understated electric guitar stab stops the underpinning strings from allowing things to get too mellow. The songs that follow offer a series of carefully woven melodies elevated both musically and lyrically by moments of intensity and always delivered by impeccable voices. Each song seems to be here on merit and that makes picking out individual tracks within the limited confines of a review trickier than is often the case.
One facet of the record that is particularly successful is how band and producer fashion an individual mood around each song. “Home” – an older song remodelled under Dessner’s tutelage – strikes a sombre note with its resounding piano chords underlining a sense of restlessness that is finally relieved by the chorus: “I don’t think we’ll ever know ‘til we get home”. Musically there are shades of Daughter in this song and also the outstanding “Seven Hours”. The latter encapsulates the themes that run through this record; those of letting go, moving on and coming to terms with loss, beginning with the line “You said I’m all you ever needed but you don’t want me all the time”. All this could begin to get repetitive but in Little May’s imagination these sentiments are freshly served and heartfelt.
Liz Drummond takes the lead vocal on “Hide” and “Sinks”; both songs employing atmospheric builds and counter rhythms. Her more brittle tone has a delightful die-away quality about it. By contrast the rockier “Remind Me” uses attack as its defense with Annie Hamilton shining on guitar, calling to mind the recently electrified Laura Marling. Any such comparison is meant as a compliment. While there are overtly sad songs on the album, notably the dignified march of “Bow & Arrow” and the sorely emotive “Chemicals” where “strangers know you better now”, there is equally a sense of reconciliation with feelings about others. Love of course is the proverbial mixed bag; “The Shine Is Brighter At Night” being a case in point – “Rest my eyes, I don’t want to see you / Rest my brain, I don’t want to know”.
The record concludes in a sense full circle with “Boardwalks”, the first song Little May wrote together. Hamilton’s lacy guitar opening immediately sets a tone of greater optimism while Field is at her sweetest vocally. The song affirms that you can leave a relationship and get on with your life: “We are not afraid of what’s to be when this road has just begun”, while the faster paced build towards the end manages to channel both Mumfords and Ben Howard. Something tells me that Little May will enjoy similar success further down that road.
Photo of Little May by Mclean Stephenson
Tony Hardy
Tony’s great passion in life is music and nothing gives him more pleasure than unearthing good, original new music and championing independent musicians. His association with Best New Bands brings great opportunities for this. He also writes for Consequence of Sound and is a judge for Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition.
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