The Staves: Not the Three Degrees. A profile highlighting this sibling "nu-folk" band from Across the Arts's Lorna Irvine.
Bewitching vocal harmonies are nothing new, and with the resurgence in ''nu-folk'' music over the last five years, it seems unlikely they will fade anytime soon, especially with the likes of Sweden's First Aid Kit revitalising the genre.
Now The Staves, a trio of sisters from Watford are destined for great things, having done a session for Lauren Laverne on 6 Music, silenced the audience on Later With Jools Hollland and supported Bon Iver at Wembley, their biggest tour date at the time of writing.
Their debut album, Dead And Born And Grown is produced by legendary producer Ethan Johns and they have previously sung backing for singer/songwriter Fionn Regan and the incomparable Welsh love muscle himself, Tom Jones, so they have the chops to back up the hype. A musical background shaped the spine-tingling sound they make, with much encouragement from hippy parents and Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and The Grateful Dead wafting around the home where they grew up.
Storytelling songs with a stripped-back sound of uke and guitar push the angelic three-part harmonies to the fore.
As for the girls themselves, they are as funny, self-contained and charming as their sound is ethereal: sibling rivalry when touring is not an issue, they insist, except when arguing over flatulence or deciding who takes control of the stereo, of course...
Jessica, Emily and Camilla gave up Uni for singing - academia's loss is surely music's gain- and what use are degrees these days anyway?
Go and find their debut- it's a sound to warm you in the cold snap, and melt you well into springtime.
The Staves' debut album Dead And Born And Grown is out now.
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