Savannah Roberts, a singer-songwriter and indeed visual artist, beautifully captures the passages of childhood with her debut, ‘Lemon & Honey’. The release is promoted as a “visual album” whereby video footage both old and new accompany the almost chapter driven sounds.
The album begins with an introductory patchwork of reminisces of childhood. These interludes punctuate the songs throughout the album as they are a direct result of the accompanying film. This accentuates the idea that the images and the audio are part of a whole rather than two separate entities. The video footage really brings out the loveliness of the songs particularly on the nursery rhyme-like ‘Coloured Cups & Plastic Kitchens’ where the audio quality alters as though you have unearthed a long-lost recording found underneath a pile of toys.
The songs themselves, however, sit perfectly without the accompanying images – they encapsulate the nostalgia in almost sepia-like tones. The centrepiece of the album is without doubt ‘Rosy’ where Savannah trades sparse, folk-y acoustic guitars for a piano and synthesized strings culminating in intertwining voices as it reaches it crescendo. The aforementioned ‘Coloured Cups & Plastic Kitchens’ is also a, albeit very short, delight with the ukulele backing sounding like it’s played on a plastic-toy guitar.
The obvious reference points for Savannah’s style of indie-folk are the likes of Kathryn Williams, Laura Marling and Phoebe Bridgers but her ability to convey the innocence of youth recalls Jack White’s playful ability with words. This is a really interesting and vibrant project and although the arrangements and instrumentation are often sparse there’s always just enough going on to keep hold of your attention and transport you back to a simpler stage of life.
‘Lemon & Honey’ is both a visual and auditory success and it will be interesting to see where Savannah goes next.