The music of Helen Ballentine is unlikely to crush your skull, but there we are. Whether the name Skullcrusher is a distraction, or an ironic affectation, I am not sure, but what I'm sure about is how well this music works. Conjuring up hints of stuff from the heights of British folk rock, most of what's here on the Skullcrusher EP, out now via Secretly Canadian, is fairly distinctive.
With a load of singers plotting a similar path these days, it takes a lot to stand out. Thankfully, Helen Ballentine has a lovely voice and an assured, if understated, delivery that renders this stuff memorable. "Trace" is a homage to early Joni, while "Day of Show" is even more stark. Elegant and sparse, this number is the real highlight here, and the kind of thing that suggests that Helen is aware of precisely how to pitch her voice among the simplest and most precise of arrangements. This cut is what makes me want to hear so much more from Skullcrusher.
Skullcrusher by Skullcrusher is out now via Secretly Canadian.
[Photo: Silken Weinberg]