Katherine Priddy
★★★★
The Pendulum Swing
COOKING VINYL. CD/DL/LP
Striking follow-up to 2021’s The Eternal Rocks Beneath.
Priddy’s first EP won acclaim from Richard Thompson; her first album earned glowing reviews. Her third is simply brilliant, though there’s nothing ‘simple’ about it besides the ease with which it gets under your skin. Musically it feels deeper, more complex, with wonderful arrangements – rural, filmic, even psychedelic in that ’60s British way – all held together by the clarity of Priddy’s pure strong voice. She still has that haunted folk nostalgia, but here it takes place within the walls of her old childhood home (First House On The Left) that inspired the album. Its 10 full songs are bookended by two small atmospheric tracks, Returning and Leaving, adding to the effect that you’re stepping into a world of its own, like a novel or a dream. An intimate beauty, from the hypnotic Selah to Ready To Go, co-written and sung with bandmate George Boomsma.