★★★½
Dead Letter Chorus vocalist Gabby Huber has stepped out on her own under the moniker of Maples, and the new name seems fitting.
She’s bathed in dappled sunlight on the record’s cover, and you can hear it washing through every track, filtered through the oh-so-familiar canopy of singer-songwriter heartache.
In going solo, Huber is showcasing more vulnerability than ever before. It may be down to knowing she’s in safe hands, with the likes of Dave Symes, Timothy Whitten and Julian Hamilton producing, mixing and co-writing. But there’s a confidence to her songwriting, and she’s wholly unafraid of wearing her influences on her sleeve. The opening tracks showcase Huber’s eclecticism, dancing nimbly from the ethereality of Enya in ‘Be Free (Two Worlds)’ to the single ‘Stars’ and onto Fiona Apple-style piano stabbing in ‘Ever Longing’.
Despite the comfort and assurance, as the synths start to fade, the album drifts into a rhythm. For a while, the sense of adventure is absent, but it eases back in with the marimba-driven ‘Hey Boy’ and the closer, ‘There Is A Light’.
With its mixture of nostalgic synths, instrumental diversity, genre experimentation and lush vocals, Maples’ debut record is a splendid slice of pop ambiance.
Two WorldsbyMaplesis out now through Dream Gold/MGM
