London – In the recent folk revival coming out of Southern England (think Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, Noah and the Whale) one artist has somewhat slipped under the radar.  Originally born in South Africa, Johnny Flynn moved over to Hampshire early in life and announced himself onto the UK music scene along with his aforementioned contemporaries in 2008 with his debut album, A Larum.  That album, which featured classic tracks “The Wrote and the Writ” and “Tickle Me Pink” garnered much critical acclaim and worldwide recognition, thanks in part due to the latter being featured as iTunes’ Free Single of The Week.  There was also an incredibly sweet cover of Jeffrey Lewis and Diane Cluck’s “Travel Light” with Marling which surfaced on YouTube shortly after the album’s release.

After releasing “Been Listening”, which featured yet another collaboration with Marling in 2008, Johnny went on to record a film score for ‘A Bag of Hammers’ in 2012 in between acting at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.  Now back with his musical hat on, Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit (the full name of his musical pursuits) are back with their fourth full length LP, “Country Mile”, released on September 30 in the UK.

The album opens with title track “Country Mile,” which sees Flynn’s trademark sing-talking style back in full force, building slowly towards final refrain “I’ve only got so near, I’ve only gone so far, I’ll walk another country mile, I’ll see another star”.  A strong start and a great introduction to the man himself for those not familiar with his earlier work.

Next up comes “After Eliot” and “The Lady Is Risen”, tracks for which some rather cool animated videos have already been released on YouTube.  “After Eliot” is particularly catchy, and as the title suggests is loosely based on an imaginary encounter with writer T.S Eliot, as if Shakespearian performances weren’t enough to prove Flynn’s literary credentials.

A notable mid-album mention goes to “Fol-de-rol” a track for which another lyric video has been created featuring Johnny’s often-used layered vocals alongside the somewhat more uncharacteristic use of a keyboard, building throughout and almost boarding anthemic at one point.  Not the only track on the album to do so, “Fol-de-rol” deals with seeking direction and guidance.  Whether it’s because Flynn has become a recent father, or that he’s simultaneously juggling music, acting and poetry, this theme creates some incredibly sincere and relatable material.

The album has quieter moments with some nicely contrasted male/female vocal combinations as on “Gypsy Hymn” and “Tinker’s Trails”.  “Time Unremembered” is one of the most stripped back moments and is a fantastic album closer, allowing the lyrics to take centre stage.  It’s to be expected given Flynn’s other artistic pursuits, but strip away the music, and the lyrical content on the album could more than hold it own as a book of poetic verse.

There’s not a great deal of surprises on “Country Mile”.  The album doesn’t differ enormously from the blueprint set out on A Larum and those that have followed the folkster for the past few years will not be disappointed with what’s offered up here. By no means a negative, but in the unlikely event that it was Flynn’s intention to break through into the mainstream with “Country Mile” it’s unlikely to achieve it’s objective.  The songs stay too true to his folk-based roots and to be honest, that’s for the best. Whilst Flynn could no-doubt write more radio friendly content, it wouldn’t feel genuine.  His songs, as ever, are wonderfully earnest and have resulted in a beautiful body of music which will be the perfect accompaniment to many an autumn evening.