Samantha Marais - The Peppermint Conspiracy (Butterfly Recordings)
3/5
By: Sian Norris
The debut album from South African born Samantha Marais, The Peppermint Conspiracy combines guitar, banjo, mandolins, harmoniums and melodicas with Samantha's ethereal vocals to create some simple but pleasing folk music.
Samantha cannot be lumped in with women such as Joanna Newsom and Josephine Foster, those at the forefront of female nu-folk. Instead, her songs have a strongly traditional vibe, her soft and lisping voice lilting over Irish-influenced guitar based tunes. Although the press release compares her to Kate Bush and Francoise Hardy, she owes a greater debt perhaps to the likes of Cara Dillon.
Marais has a good vocal range, often venturing into a high pitch which may have provoked the comparisons with early Kate Bush. However, her voice is more ethereal and child like, than epic or operatic, as Kate's is. Her voice, and the accents her songs are delivered in, is instead rather elfish and fey. Marais has a way with harmonies and when she sings accapella her voice has a certain power to it, reminiscent of Irish gypsy song and storytelling.
Yet there's sadly nothing particularly outstanding on this album, especially when compared to what a lot of women in folk music are doing at the moment. But though it sounds comparatively amateurish when held next to the Newsoms and Fosters of this scene, there is still much to enjoy to it if you're looking for nothing more than a traditional folk record possessing a timeless feel.
Stream tracks from 'The Peppermint Conspiracy' HERE.
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