The Wandering Hearts - Wild Silence

Recent AMA-UK award winners The Wandering Hearts have been living the last 12 months in a dreamy haze. Just 26 minutes after they uploaded their debut recording to the internet, they were contacted by a record label.

With their collaboration shifted from first to fifth gear in an instant, the folk quartet unveiled their debut EP, Burning Bridges, to rave reviews in November. With the pressure on to deliver a debut album that raises the bar even higher, can Wild Silence meet the expectations?

They most certainly can. Wild Silence is an album that pretty much hits all the right notes from the moment it opens with Rattle through to the close of Iona. There may be a few lulls and bumps through the course of the album's 12 tracks, but as debuts go, this is a high pedigree.

Rather strangely the album's lead single, Wish I Could, is actually the album's weakest cut. Centred on cliches, it has radio appeal but lacks the beauty and depth of the album as a whole.

Early release Devil is better seen as a realistic teaser for the album's contents. With a stirring presence, flawless harmonies and distinctive lead vocals, this is spine tingling territory.

Equally impressive are the sweeping Wild Silence, sorrowful storytelling Laid In The Ground and striking If I Fall, which showcase a band with diverse influences and an ability to fuse them together into a sound that is distinctive to the band themselves.

With echoes of Of Monsters and Men, First Aid Kit, Mumford and Sons and Fleetwood Mac, The Wandering Hearts deliver a debut worthy of the hype.