Few debut albums are as assured as this one from British indie duo King Hannah. Indeed, Hannah Merrick and guitarist Craig Whittle – the duo at the heart of the Liverpool outfit’s creative dynamic – very effectively scorch their sonic identity into these 12 tracks. Merrick’s smouldering vocals – recalling the likes of Fiona Apple and PJ Harvey – blend intuitively with Whittle’s languorous guitar.

Opener ‘A Well-Made Woman’ is a haunting slow burner, evoking images of frontier outlaws. Tracks like ‘All Being Fine’ and ‘Ant Crawling On An Apple Stork’ are similarly brooding. This is smoky Americana of the best kind. Elsewhere, ‘The Moods I Get In’, ‘Foolius Caesar’ and ‘Go-Kart Kid (Hell No!)’ have – as indicated by the song titles – a somewhat lighter feel, with the group’s dry wit to the fore. But they have something special about them. Overall, this is an impressively accomplished debut.

7/10

Listen: ‘The Moods I Get In’

Out now via City Slang: