Cold But Bright is Jamie Flett’s first release having spent a long time listening and playing. The music assembled almost by stealth while living something of a double life working in the relative peace of a library by day and writing and recording in the time left over in the evenings. It’s an album full of subtle melodies, memorable in a gentle, understated way. Some unexpected harmonies weave stories in songs like Ruby and Pearl that reverberate as if from a deep sea cave full of old pirates' bones and booty. By turns lamenting, uplifting then sometimes angry and frustrated or downright belligerent with a world and a way of life that fall under an occasionally jaundiced gaze, witness that of the observer in Only the Good Die Young. However, there is love and even optimism to be found in this record despite some of the melancholy overtones and the sheer joy of making organised noise is apparent in one or two extended arrangements like the album opener Pond Life. The organic textures of acoustic instruments like accordion, mandolin, banjo and home-made percussion have a warmth reminiscent of the living room fire beside which they were often recorded. Within the lyrics are questions that do not always have answers, characters like Roxy from blasted evenings in the city and observations on the mysterious tightrope walk of being a human. There is a search for some honesty without necessarily spelling anything out for you. These words are from someone who has been