Georgia Fair - All Through Winter

We got such amazing feedback from Heidi Pett's beautifully written debut review last week that we couldn't wait to feature her words again. Here, she gives her thoughts on Georgia Fair's first long-player:

Despite its name, All Through Winter seems destined to be something of a summer soundtrack. A warm breeze, gauzy curtains blowing through an open window and the folk-pop of Sydney’s Jordan Wilson and Ben Riley sit together almost as naturally as their vocal harmonies. Almost, because they’re pretty tight. It’s clear the duo have spent a great deal of time making music together and this ease is evident on their debut album, which is full of the unaffected and enjoyable songs we have come to expect from previous releases.

It’s music that feels familiar, partly due to the inclusion and reworking of songs such as opener Times Fly and Simple Man, which have featured on previous EPs, and partly due to the familiarly pleasant combination of two-part harmonies and acoustic guitar. The album requires a second listen in order to differentiate and appreciate individual songs. The addition of rolling drums on a number of tracks including Blind, which builds to a climactic chorus, and the jaunty Remember Me provide depth to a record which may perhaps be pigeonholed as roadtrip fodder but, to be entirely honest, music doesn’t always have to challenge you. It’s perfectly alright to sit back and thoroughly enjoy this gentle album of at times wistful, at times unabashedly joyful but always skillful songwriting. Put it on when you get home with salty eyelashes and the light sting of sunburn on your limbs and let the recurring themes of nostalgia and the passage of time tie together an album which feels like home.

Radio-friendly single Where You Been? is an upbeat, summery song which characterises their debut in more ways than one - the closing refrain is a reminder that, yes, the best is yet to come for Georgia Fair, if they continue to write to their strengths: sweet and clever songs based on beautiful male harmonies which go together like, well, summer and acoustic folk pop. Which is to say, perfectly.

Review by Heidi Pett. She tweets here and you can read her own blog here.