Hope For Agoldensummer – Ariadne Thread / Hours In The Attic (Independent) When I knew that this was on the way I got about as excited as a nest of young owls just about to fly the nest. On arrival it did not disappoint, in fact, the sheer beauty of the packaging could only enhance my delight; and when I discovered the accompanying live album Hours In The Attic live 2009 (in another gorgeous package) I just sat and stared, sat and stared… and then, with a certain reverence, started to listen. This family band is almost too much (in a very positive way, obviously), and their music beguiles me. Listening to Hours…, despite what sounds like an audience of single figures early on, gave me gorgeous goose bumps. It made me realise what a privilege it can be to see and listen to real artists, in an environment where the songs can reach out and wrap themselves around you so very tightly, and make the rest of the world disappear, whilst the magic of the music lingers on. Their songs, augmented by exquisite cover versions (including James Brown’s “Try Me”, Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Only Living Boy In New York” and Johnny Thunder’s classic “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory”) blind you with their beauty. The music is at once absorbing, beautiful, classic, delightful, eloquent..I shall stop here before I have covered the whole alphabet; I’m sure you get the picture. This is a must-have album, and I don’t say that about many live ones. By comparison, Ariadne Thread, although lacking the spontaneity and immediate charm of Hours…, is a superb, warm album of gentle harmonies and solo vocals by the Campbell sisters, with sparse accompaniment ranging through piano, which is to the fore, plucked guitar strings, and mild percussion; occasionally, as on “Last Summer’s Beach Trip”, there is a serene cascade of reverb-washed guitars that give the affect of having your ears caressed by a number of mermaids, instead of one or two… By the way, all of the packaging is recycled paper and card, and the printing done by a worker-owned press in Oregon. So you see, this whole thing really is a work of heart. www.myspace.com/hopeforagoldensummer Kev A. Hope For Agoldensummer – Katelina, Dear Next