Little Sparrow
Album: Struck Gold
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 3
Website: http://www.littlesparrow.org/

It is now two years since I was introduced to the wonderful and beguiling music of Little Sparrow, aka Katie Ware, through the medium of her debut EP. Last year Katie released her first full-length album " Wishing Tree" to great acclaim and it was deservedly nominated for Debut Album Of The Year in the Fatea Awards 2014, alongside equally strong contenders from Kelly Oliver and Ninebarrow. Ninebarrow won the award but the nomination gave Katie the recognition that she so richly deserves for her ravishingly beautiful music.

Hot on the heels of her debut album, Little Sparrow/Katie has released a three-track EP which features one track from the album ["Struck Gold"] and two new tracks "Memories Maid" and "If I Were A Bird".

If you are already familiar with " Wishing Tree", you will know that "Sruck Gold"is a blissful song which Katie/Little Sparrow describes as "a love song written from the heart and reflecting on those moments when you feel most at home and at your most complete".

Anyone listening to this song [or watching the video on YouTube] will not fail to be captivated by the warmth and sincerity of Katie's vocals which are perfectly complemented by some beautiful pedal steel guitar.

The first new song is "Memories Maid", which, Katie says came about after she read a book called "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden. Katie became transported to the world of Sayuri, the main character in the book and found herself singing words as if she was that character. This is a typically atmospheric Little Sparrow track which has a quasi-classical flavour courtesy of Little Sparrow's regular string section of Sarah Dale and Graham Clark on cello and violin respectively. Incidentally, the title "Memories Maid" is intentionally spelt that way to reflect the double meaning of "made" and "maid", because Geisha girls were maids of their adopted homes most of the time.

The second new song on the EP "If I Were A Bird" was originally a poem which Little Sparrow/Katie wrote in 2013 and which appears on the sleeve of "Wishing Tree". Katie has now turned the poem into a beautiful yet quirky love song - "If I were a bird and you were a tree, I'd rest in your branches". Another charming and enchanting piece of music from a superbly talented artist.

If you are not yet familiar with the work of Little Sparrow you owe it to yourself to remedy that situation forthwith and this EP is a great place to start.

Peter Cowley