‘Jenny Come Home’ by Andy Shauf (Single)

Andy Shauf has an “evolved appreciation for melody.” Pic: Colin Medley

We don’t know Jenny, but if she’s the muse for a song like this we hope that she returns soon

Having been likened to both Nick Drake and Elliott Smith, you’ll be surprised to find that Andy Shauf is remarkably chipper on the indie-folk songwriter’s delicate single Jenny Come Home.

The mood is disarmingly well-spirited, so much so that you spend its near three minutes wondering whether there’s a well of despair waiting to draw you into its depths. That moment never comes and instead you’re treated to a toe-tapping melody that harmonises wonderfully with Shauf’s muted yet rich vocal, and leaves you beaming.

Andy Shauf is not one of folk’s great doomed souls, if Jenny Come Home is anything to go by. That, though, should not be a cause for complaint. Because where the comparison with Smith and Drake lies is in his evolved appreciation for melody – which is where the focus should always be.

Verdict: Indie-folk that appreciates the genre’s best quality

Damien Girling

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