The Pond - The Pond Review

Kathryn Williams has already enjoyed a career than has spanned over a decade but her new collaboration with Simon Edwards and Ginny Clee sees her release album The Pond.

Carved is the opening track on the album and it’s a blend of folk elements that Williams is well known for but there is a pop feel at the core of this track.

And these two elements blend together perfectly, through a dash of electric guitar, and you have an opening track that is difficult to forget.

There is a real melodic feel to the track and there is also a very laid back sound to this opening track while Williams’ vocals ring out.

The laid back disposition that is on the opening track follow into Circle Round A tree, which is one of my favourite tracks on the album.

There is some intricate folk guitar work on this track and Williams’ sultry vocals go with it perfectly.

But not all the tracks have a sunny feel to them as The River is the first of the darker tracks on the album.

The River has quite an eerie feel to it as the instrumentation of the track is much harder and more prominent, almost masking the delicate vocals of Williams.

Memory Let Down is another of these darker tracks and there is real sense of foreboding with this song as the heavy piano notes really doe create quite an atmosphere, that couldn’t be more different to the opening couple of songs.

Williams is clearly an artist who is not afraid to experiment with different sounds as well as feelings and this is an album that is an assault on all the senses.

As the darker tracks really do have a visual impact as making the hairs on the back of you neck stand up - and it’s been a while since an album has done that for me.

The instrumentation on this record plays just as important part as the vocals and whether it be piano or acoustic guitar Williams always find the sound that compliments her vocals so beautifully.

And Williams has such an authentic folk and soul voice that she gets under you skin and really makes you feel every inch of the track.

While this may be the debut album for The Pond it is by a very experienced music maker and it is not to be missed.

Kathryn Williams presents The Pond is out now