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With a sound rooted in blues, jazz and country, Ma Polaine?s Great Decline have drawn comparisons to many; with references to Billie Holiday, Tom Waits and a ?moody Mary Margaret O?Hara?, yet Ma Polaine?s sound is very much their own. Beth Packer?s distinctive, emotive vocals coupled with her evocative lyrics create a mix of abstract tales, dark humour and raw beauty, whilst Clinton Hough?s understated guitar style supports with rich chords and gritty riffs.
Their first recording - Ma Polaine?s Great Decline (an EP) was released in 2011 and to date the pair have three albums to their name. Their 2020 album City of Love received wide-spread acclaim and earned them the Best Band/Duo award from Fatea Magazine, with MOJO magazine saying that the duo ?have evolved a pop-folk-blues-americana style that is warmly familiar yet is sufficiently unhinged to keep you guessing?. The songs racked up airplay, including on BBC 6 Music and on Cerys Matthews BBC Radio 2 Blues Show.
Playing live as a duo the songs become sparse versions of themselves, but the sound is a full one, Beth?s electric and double basses anchor the sound, with occasional accordion and harmonica, leaving Clinton to play with the space in between.
?Packer?s voice has a superb range, but it is her interpretative skill that entrances, with the effortless shifts that imbue her evocative lyrics with rare emotional charge? - The Morning Star.
?An album to be cherished, replete with enchanting musical treats around every corner? - Folk Radio UK.
?This is 21st-century music chock full of mystery and acute observation?
Blues Matters.
?Crying out to be used on soundtracks. A very cinematic sound... The icing on the cake is their vocalist. Stunning singer Beth Packer is someone to get to know?
Blues and Soul Magazine.
ROSWELL are Zoë Wren and Jasmine Watkiss, two harmony-obsessed multi-instrumentalists who formed after an impromptu open mic night in Cambridgeshire in 2018. Within a few months, they had won Purbeck Rising 2018 and released their debut EP ?Remedy?, which won Fatea's EP of the Year in 2019.
Roswell have supported musicians such as John Smith, Calan and Gilmore & Roberts, and played main stage shows at Purbeck Valley Folk Festival, Wimborne Minster Folk Festival and Fête de la Musique in Geneva.
A folk duo whose voices combine to create a seamless flow of rich, harmonic beauty' ~ Americana UK
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Ma Polaine's Great Decline Biography
Ma Polaine’s Great Decline are delighted to embark on a Spring tour supporting their fourth album release. The band offer a beautiful blend of folk tinged americana with their new album Molecules, due for release on the 22nd March 2024,
The final song “Molecules” is like an umbrella for so many emotions explored throughout the album. Human connections, our necessity for it, companionship and its fragility, the injustices in the world, acknowledgment of our flaws, passion, love, and hope…
Ma Polaine’s Great Decline are an award-winning band praised by MOJO Magazine for their unique blend of pop, folk, blues, and Americana. Ma Polaine’s music resonates as both comfortably familiar and refreshingly innovative, creating a truly engaging experience. With airplay on BBC 6 and BBC Radio 2, and the support of Cerys Matthews, the band's genre-defying charm unfolds through songs that explore the intricacies of human connections, weaving tales of light and dark with uplifting melodies and heartfelt storytelling.
Throughout their journey, they have released three albums and five EPs. "City of Love," their album from June 2020, was a pivotal moment for them, when they received "Best band/duo" award from Fatea Magazine. The band had fantastic reviews in publications like MOJO with a 4 stars review. In 2020 they were due to perform live on BBC Radio 2 for Cerys Matthews when the world ground to a halt, faced with lockdown. In spite of this difficult time they had some wonderful moments such as BBC 6 radio play on International Womens Day.
Live, Beth has a black humour that gives the audience the chance to laugh at themselves, our human connection, love, and the complex facets of pain, with an understanding life can go a bit wonky sometimes. The band seeks to offer a raw, authentic portrayal of real-life experiences that will resonate with audiences from all walks of life. There’s a cathartic nature to Beth’s lyrics, song writing and sound that hugs the listener and draws them in.
“..an album to be cherished, replete with enchanting musical treats around every corner”. Folk Radio UK
"Ma Polaine’s Great Decline have evolved a pop-folk-blues-americana style that is warmly familiar, yet is sufficiently unhinged to keep you guessing…" MOJO
“Packer’s voice has a superb range, but it is her interpretative skill that entrances, with the effortless shifts that imbue her evocative lyrics with rare emotional charge”.
Morning Star
“..an album to be cherished, replete with enchanting musical treats around every corner”.
Folk Radio UK
“This is 21st-century music chock full of mystery and acute observation”.
Blues Matters
“…an intangible element peculiar to themselves”.
R2 Magazine
“…it’s the singer’s compelling and never overplayed delivery, however, that gives this set its sustained, just-under-the surface intensity”.
Roots Music Report
“The icing on the cake is their vocalist. Stunning singer Beth Packer is someone to get to know”.
Blues And Soul Magazine
Read MoreThe final song “Molecules” is like an umbrella for so many emotions explored throughout the album. Human connections, our necessity for it, companionship and its fragility, the injustices in the world, acknowledgment of our flaws, passion, love, and hope…
Ma Polaine’s Great Decline are an award-winning band praised by MOJO Magazine for their unique blend of pop, folk, blues, and Americana. Ma Polaine’s music resonates as both comfortably familiar and refreshingly innovative, creating a truly engaging experience. With airplay on BBC 6 and BBC Radio 2, and the support of Cerys Matthews, the band's genre-defying charm unfolds through songs that explore the intricacies of human connections, weaving tales of light and dark with uplifting melodies and heartfelt storytelling.
Throughout their journey, they have released three albums and five EPs. "City of Love," their album from June 2020, was a pivotal moment for them, when they received "Best band/duo" award from Fatea Magazine. The band had fantastic reviews in publications like MOJO with a 4 stars review. In 2020 they were due to perform live on BBC Radio 2 for Cerys Matthews when the world ground to a halt, faced with lockdown. In spite of this difficult time they had some wonderful moments such as BBC 6 radio play on International Womens Day.
Live, Beth has a black humour that gives the audience the chance to laugh at themselves, our human connection, love, and the complex facets of pain, with an understanding life can go a bit wonky sometimes. The band seeks to offer a raw, authentic portrayal of real-life experiences that will resonate with audiences from all walks of life. There’s a cathartic nature to Beth’s lyrics, song writing and sound that hugs the listener and draws them in.
“..an album to be cherished, replete with enchanting musical treats around every corner”. Folk Radio UK
"Ma Polaine’s Great Decline have evolved a pop-folk-blues-americana style that is warmly familiar, yet is sufficiently unhinged to keep you guessing…" MOJO
“Packer’s voice has a superb range, but it is her interpretative skill that entrances, with the effortless shifts that imbue her evocative lyrics with rare emotional charge”.
Morning Star
“..an album to be cherished, replete with enchanting musical treats around every corner”.
Folk Radio UK
“This is 21st-century music chock full of mystery and acute observation”.
Blues Matters
“…an intangible element peculiar to themselves”.
R2 Magazine
“…it’s the singer’s compelling and never overplayed delivery, however, that gives this set its sustained, just-under-the surface intensity”.
Roots Music Report
“The icing on the cake is their vocalist. Stunning singer Beth Packer is someone to get to know”.
Blues And Soul Magazine
Americana
Simultaneously Familiar And Exotic
Acoustic Blues
Alt-folk.
Blues
Jazz
Oddly Stylish
Roots Time-travellers
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