Here we have the third single from South For Winter’s forthcoming second album, ‘Of Sea and Sky’, this time telling of the coming back to Aotearoa after the Covid isolations. Formed by New Zealander Nick Stone, Colorado native Dani Cichon, and Michigander Alex Stradal, here we have a band who spend more of the year in and around their Nashville home, literally heading south for winter to return to Nick’s roots and spend summer in New Zealand. They are all multi-instrumentalists, songwriters and singers, and here Dani takes the lead on vocals and mandolin, Nick is on acoustic guitar and backing vocals while Alex is on cello and backing vocals.
This is folk, but mixed with an Americana feel at times, a wistfulness along with the brightness from Dani’s clear vocals. There is always a careful layering to their songs, with particular attention given to the arrangements: they never feel over-polished but demonstrate to the listener just what it is like to experience these guys in concert. I was fortunate enough to catch them a few times when they were here a couple of years ago, and they are an absolute delight in concert. If you have yet to come across them but enjoy wonderful vocals and songs in a folk setting then I urge you to seek this out, along with their excellent debut album ‘Luxumbra’. All their material can be streamed from their site at https://www.southforwintermusic.com so why not give them a listen?
Rating: 9/10
