Maxine Funke - River Said

Latest long player from Maxine Funke is a story of two halves and a document of gentle evolution. What we get on the A is the kind of homespun and intimate folksy confessionals we've long loved Funke for, the kind where a simple melody or delicate turn of phrase can feel quietly monumental. Funke remains a master of such things - i can't say if these are the best examples of her skilled writing and performance, but they're likely the clearest recorded songs we've heard from her to date and certainly further irrefutable evidence of an artist with a full understanding of their vision. On the B, that vision is widened impressively with what feels like a significant leap forward in ambition. Funke's traditionally succinct approach is substituted for two longform compositions that overlay cello and Mark Hollis-like guitar delay in a way we've not really seen from her before, though the split with P Wits might have provided a precursor of sorts. Here the songwriting feels expansive, open-ended and formally ambiguous, a compositional trick that reaches towards the sublime in new elusive ways, getting at what the words can't quite reach. Undoubtedly for me Funke's best to date, and one that suggests a future that lies evermore open.