Two Wings - Love's Spring

• Stewart Smith
• 23 April 2012

A warm-hearted fusion of vintage Americana and English folk-rock

(Tin Angel Records)

The strident classicism of Two Wings may come as a surprise to those familiar with the avant-folk of Hanna Tuulikki’s other group Nalle. That project’s eerie soundworld is replaced by a warm-hearted fusion of vintage Americana and English folk-rock, complete with brass fanfares and soaring guitar breaks. Tuulikki and songwriting partner Ben Reynolds work through rock tradition with aplomb, even mustering the chutzpah to borrow from Dylan and Chris Isaak on the splendid ‘Just Like’. Handsomely arranged and deftly played, it’s ultimately Tuulikki’s remarkable voice which lifts Two Wings above the retro-rock pack, her keening soprano capable of sky-borne vaults and coquettish Kate Bush trills. If they haven’t quite come into their own yet, then it’s only a matter of time.