Leah Senior’s second album Pretty Faces pays homage to her dark folk roots while hinting at layers of pop and psychedelic undertones. The blinds are drawn and the songs are covered in a fine layer of dust; yet there is sunlight peaking through the gaps, a silver lining to a dusky tone and a sense of humour behind the tragedy.

On the first single and title track, “Pretty Faces”, Leah Senior sings of the idea that beauty is fluid; that we are not bound to our features. It’s an enticing introduction to an album which explores deeply the possibility of the personal liberation that may come from loss, and the breaking of expectations – those we’ve imposed on ourselves, or imposed on us by others.

The songs are sparsely arranged, Leah Senior’s finger picking providing a stark canvas for her unusual lyrical wit. Leah Senior’s luminous folk forms are complemented with old-world piano and guitar and dulcet sibling harmonies.