Meet lavender. This winsome duo, consisting of Oskar Rice and Adam Jackson. Their output so far has been confined to a debut EP which came out right in the middle of the lockdown and another couple of singles that bring their tally so far to less than thirty minutes of music. But that’s about to change with their debut album, we’re having a barn dance, a significant step forward and brilliant distillation of all that made those first releases pop so dramatically. This album is the story of one tumultuous year of living, loving (and the falling out thereof). The songwriting is a diary of an eventful 12 months.

“We had a big chat about what this all means to us,” explains Oskar, “And we boiled it down to this: it’s about love, but not necessarily romantic love. It’s about all of those competing emotions and how, if you love one thing, it might detract from loving something else.” we’re having a barn dance succeeds and surpasses the duo’s aims. It’s an album that is manifestly ambitious both in its production sound and as songwriters clearly finding greater confidence in their future pathway. As one fan commented on YouTube: “You go. You go and be great. With your lavender.” Hear, hear