The Catenary Wires – Red Red Skies

The first line of Red Red Skies is a bit of a giveaway. “Nothing ever comes between us,” they sing, almost rendering void the themes of relationship breakdown that follow. But this acoustic duo of Amelia Fletcher (OBE, no less) and Rob Pursey certainly know their stuff: performing together since the early days of Talulah Gosh in 1986, they now turn their ever-sharp songwriting prowess in the direction of love’s various uncertainties.

When You Walk Away demonstrates how insecurity can unravel even the tightest of couplings, while Things I Love obsesses over totemistic objects in true adolescent fashion, magnifying the genuine feelings they represent. Throw Another Love Song On The Fire, meanwhile, manages to out-Stephin Merritt Stephin Merritt by pastiching The Magnetic Fields’ wryest and folksiest of tendencies. Ultimately, The Catenary Wires skilfully reinvent love’s frailties as strengthening human characteristics: after all, red skies are the surest indication of a bright new dawn ahead. [Will Fitzpatrick]