- As indie-folk has steadily become more deadly boring and commercial, there’s been a counterweight, all earnest, dark and gothic in the sounds of nu-folk. From Laura Marling to Chelsea Wolfe, Esben & The Witch to Sarah Blasko, Laura Jean to the Orbweavers. A new name to add to that list is Willowy. The brain-child of Brittany Green in conjunction with her upright bass player, Tim Waters.

Their debut EP, The White Dress certainly meets the benchmarks for gothic darkness, you can also throw in slow, sparse and sometimes blunt and brutal and they’re definitely earnest, taking on a concept record as their very first offering. The concept is, basically Brittany herself: finding her way in the world, the trials and tribulations that face a young woman today.

At its core is a frustration with a woman’s place in the world. Today, still, it’s hard to be taken seriously as a woman making her way, especially when, like Brittany, you’ve got long, flowing, blonde hair and the chauvinistic stereotypes that go with it.

Brittany retaliates by upending what you’re expecting, using the stereotypes as cover to launch a sneak attack. So, the dull, passe folk music of today becomes the instrument for saying something sharp and arresting; sweet phrases suddenly bludgeon the listener, and the pretty blonde girl isn’t what she seemed to be anymore.

You can take this sort of thing way out there, but this isn’t Kimya Dawson and the outlandishness of anti-folk. Green and Waters aim for a balance, their aims achieved by contrast rather than just extremity. Sweet singer-songwriter softness weighed against the sparseness of country and folk revival; the roughness of a simple, debut EP against what is obviously genuine talent; anger and declamation against quiet sorrow and gothic murk.

Willowy are an interesting advent in nu-folk and certainly something for fans of the sound. If you’re one who likes to break a stereotype or two, it’s for you too; and for anyone who’s ever felt the need to break the monotony of indie-folk, well, this is definitely for you.

- Chris Cobcroft.