An Album of Quiet Devastating Beauty

Originally conceived as a solo project for New Zealander Hollie Fullbrook, Tiny Ruins has with their second album Brightly Painted One become a proper band, with Cass Basil and Alexander Freer joining on bass and drums respectively, John Paul writes for PopMatters.

“Continuing on with the stylistic template laid out on 2012’s lovely, minimalist Some Were Meant For The Sea, the addition of Basil and Freer, plus a number of other assorted horn and string players throughout, helps take the already exceptional songs of Fullbrook to glorious new heights, fleshing them out with perfectly complimentary arrangements ideally suited for late-night listening and foggy, solitary Sunday afternoons,” Paul says.

“Reminiscent of Beth Orton, Cat Power’s younger sister (with a predilection for the British folk revival of the late-1960s) and the jazzier side of Norah Jones, Fullbrook’s voice is a lovely lilting instrument capable of the subtlest phrasing and an expert ability at finding the interesting spaces between notes.

“As with the best of songwriters in the folk tradition, Tiny Ruins’ Fullbrook manages to bring the characters populating these 10 gorgeously sparse tracks to life.

“Above all, Brightly Painted One is an album of quiet, devastating beauty.”

Original article by John Paul, Popmatters, May 22, 2014.