HOLLY MACVE

Four years ago, Holly Macve’s debut album introduced a breathtaking talent with a soaring voice that evoked the talismanic figures of America’s storied country music past. It was an assured opening release. Yet the Galway-born, Yorkshire-raised singer had grander plans for the follow-up to the sparse and dark-hued Golden Eagle. “I had this vision,” she says, “where I wanted it to be bigger and more expansive, and have this dreamy quality.”

is a fearless realisation of that vision. It’s a lavishly woven album that witnesses an emerging star undertaking a voyage of self-discovery after clocking up thousands of miles on the road. In a different world to its predecessor sonically, it’s the 25-year-old’s coming-of-age record. It’s fitting, therefore, that it was written and recorded using a guitar made by Macve’s stepfather, and gifted to her as a 16th birthday present. Ever since that landmark occasion, Macve’s hand-built Jones acoustic has accompanied her on her meteoric rise, travelling around the globe and featuring