With a break from recording with The Last Dinner Party, its members are free to do as they please. Thankfully, for Lizzie Mayland, it means new material. Folk fundamentals are explored on the welcome, wonderful debut EP for the guitarist. The Slow Fire of Sleep is a tremendous, well-contained piece, five songs to kindle the softer, acoustic fire with. It is a special sort of sound which has boomed across the UK in the last few years, with Chris Brain and Katie Spencer leading the charge on a renewed interest in the calmer flourishes, those comforting tones, of folk music. The Slow Fire of Sleep captures this, too. Those fundamentals paint a picture, the baked bread of Mother Mother feels right at home in the fireplace-warmed room, the cold stone floors and the cottage-like housing these songs paint.
The Slow Fire of Sleep is a delicate invitation, a chance to come in from the cold and feel for the strengths of folk fundamentals. Mayland gets to the core of those moments, the heart of what keeps the genre alive, well. These are songs which are longings for home, for the slower style of living not afforded by being on the road most of the year. Performance is a gift, to play songs to a receptive crowd is a treat, but so too is the slower living, the aroma of baked bread and the lush landscapes Mayland provides throughout this EP. Their vocal work is exceptional, though this will be no surprise to those who took note of Mayland’s work in The Last Dinner Party. This EP is a chance for Mayland to shine, and they take it with an inevitable confidence. Homeward highlights the depths of their vocal range, the elongations are tremendous. Do not mistake those heartwarming, helpful tones for light moments, though. There is still a fundamental depth to these songs, and Mayland moulds these parts well.
From The Other Side of the World I’d Hear You holds such a blissful perspective on the world. A dedication to another half of life, be it a person or a passion, it is there. The Slow Fire of Sleep develops these dedications brilliantly and Mayland takes them to their emotive limit. But they are careful, too, not to overstep the emotional line, the creative blur created is just the right balance between heartfelt and hopeful. This five-piece EP feels like a reaction to the unfortunate, concrete consistencies of the UK and beyond. Hopes of returning the countryside, the rocky lands heard on lead single, Lighthouse, can be heard here. Still life, the loneliness of the modern age and the difference between it and the isolation of country living, is planted within The Slow Fire of Sleep. It blossoms in the most staggering of ways.
Yorkshire folk gains another incredible voice. Whatever comes of Mayland after this release, be it continued creativity with The Last Dinner Party in the build to their second album or a further lean into these folk fundamentals, it is done with truth and beauty. The Slow Fire of Sleep highlights Mayland as an emotive, often incredible writer with the hyper specifics, the calming effect of a voice or the reflections of home as a memory to keep hold of, leading the way. The EP title track, which also serves as its closer, captures that instrumental tenderness. Folk fundamentals toyed with well. Acoustic clarity and warmth with an orchestral flourish brought into play as Mayland showcases their incredible vocal range. It is a project which successfully captures the liberation of the countryside, of that place, wherever in the world it may be, where we can feel comfort and hope for ourselves and the future. Optimism like that is hard to come by, and Mayland is as genuine as it gets when showcasing this message.
