Modern folk music is tainted with a reputation for being tired and uninspired, and so Joker’s Daughter had that much harder a task with her debut album. Released on Domino Records this album is a pleasant delight and is the latest in a string of brilliant dream-pop releases this year (see Dakota Suite).
The gazed indie-folk reaches a seventh cloud peak on ‘Go Walking,’ a track as calm and laid back as they come. They lyrics are simple and the looped guitar riff maintains the simplicity of the track. Producer Danger Mouse is on top from (as always) and this ‘unique’ combination is both intriguing and oddly fantastic.
Perhaps it’s just that I’m a sucker for softer female vocals but the album encaptures the essence of hippy-esque folk which has been missing for so long. There are plenty more highlights through the record as Costas continues to reinvent the initial appeal track by track. Danger Mouse’s influence is apparent on many tracks (The Last Laugh) and the mix of gentle acoustic strumming and electronic beats works magically through the rest of the record (Under the influence of Jaffa Cakes,Chasing Tickling Crocodile).
The album maintains more of what we might expect (Jelly Belly) and juggles a step in a new direction with traditionally generic features without making an absolute mess of it all which must be comended (considering how many artists fall into the dreaded progression trap). Overall a sound effort and a solid album which is bound to go unnoticed by the mainstream (for now at least) though lets hope that by album number two Ms. Costas is given the bigger push in the limelight she deserves – especially when we consider the standards of some of mainstream pops leading ‘ladies’ (Lady BlahBlah).
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