Sounds like…

A weary dark fantasy fairy.

The review

The fact we have any Hannah Fury material at all in nothing short of a celebration. Some thirteen years have passed since the stunning ‘Through The Gash’ but as Hannah alludes to on her Bandcamp page, those recent five years have not been kind. ‘Little Family’ was in part written as a response to the passing of her father but then also during 2019 as she lost her husband too. Having survived a horrendous car accident in 2016, Hannah had already been through enough and all of that emotion and delicate weariness comes out in each and every song.

‘Little Family’ is an unmastered album of 10 songs featuring Hannah’s voice and her trademark electric piano and synth pads. They are frozen in time as Hannah doesn’t feel like she can emotionally work on the songs due to their association but they offer such a deeply personal insight into the world of grief, love, resilience and haunting memories. Across the album, each song often has a simple melody or circular riff that allows the space for Fury to whisper or quietly coo sweet nothings or sinister thoughts. To this day no one makes music quite like Hannah Fury and whilst this album (aside from ‘In The Opal Light’) lacks the fire and drama of her previous work, this album about sweet surrender.

Tracks such as ‘Like Ghosts’ revel in their understated brilliance as layered vocals wail and trickle alongside the electric piano. The majority of the tracks have a twinkling beauty to them such as the music-box like ‘Marisel’ or the deliberately hushed ‘A Willow Weeps’. It is an album of haunted lullaby’s and whilst as a full album it may suffer a little from holding the same space throughout, the flipside of that is you can utterly lose yourself in a magical celestial world of electric piano and wispy vocals. Just be aware that, as this was a work in progress, there are a few volume jumps in places and the album is quiet as a whole. Whilst that may make the album feel more unpolished, I’d argue it brings a certain homemade warmth to the songs. They are imperfect but they also capture the essence of a moment in time – particularly when its s heavy with emotion. I feel like as a listener I can tap into that relate to the mood too.

What is remarkable is that whilst the album is undoubtedly dark, there are moments of bloom and beauty too – sometimes even hope. The closing instrumental ‘Neon Marrow’ is a beautiful celestial send off that feels grande and mystical. ‘Blooming In the Garden’ feels like a spiritual solace too. You can take comfort from these tracks and interpret them into your own meaning.

I hope that this album helps both Hannah Fury find strength in her music but also that it brings comfort for many others who are suffering from grief. Whenever I listen to it, I am both soothed and melancholy and I’m taken to a mysterious place where I can balance both emotions whilst remembering those I’ve lost too. It is a deeply personal experience and as such, it is difficult to score as such. If you love dark, moody and whisper girls on the piano though – this is absolute gold dust.

Featured track: Like Ghosts

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