Chris Brain - New Light (2025) Hi-Res

New Light, Chris Brain’s third album, feels like spring; from the first notes of the opening title track, there is a lightness of touch that gives the songs a sense of freshness and optimism. Interestingly, Chris split the recording of these eleven tracks between his allotment shed during the early morning hours and The Nave Studios in Leeds. This neat decision highlights the importance of both solitude and collaboration.

The spirit of the allotment shed seems to permeate the set, which radiates a feeling of quiet, wide-eyed wonder at the world. Take Sun Did Glide, with its signature Chris Brain fingerpicked guitar line and clear, innocent vocals (‘as a new day broke, came a gentle kiss / oh wash over me tender bliss’) joined by a glistening pedal steel line from Noiak Bedirian. It feels gently elated, and the music, delivered with the most delicate of touches, is pitch-perfect and played with real focus and precision.

Things get more serious on New Dying Day, with Chris’s acoustic intro played slowly, hitting hammer-ons and lower notes that add to the mood, along with subtle and sympathetic electric guitar bringing more muscle to the arrangement. Owen Spafford’s ever-reliable violin also adds feeling to the piece, particularly the scratchier notes towards the end. It’s a far cry from songs like the hazy Brother, an easy, upbeat piece with string bends and delicate banjo perhaps shading a hint of melancholy in the lyrics: ‘Brother, all is fading, as the shadows start to roam.’

Further on, we have a delightful instrumental in the shape of Rolling On, a solo piece of pacy undulating acoustic playing like a yomp across the hills. This one is impeccably performed, with nods to technical prowess, but more focus on a lovely core melody.

Perhaps topping the lot is the final song, Sit and Wonder Why, a slow-paced and pensive piece that slips into a charming strummed number with a lovely pedal steel line sitting behind it. The song sounds like it was written outside in nature and quietude and fully encapsulates the character of the album as a whole. It’s a lovely note to end the set on.

New Light is a delicate album built around Chris’s warm guitar sound and subtly nuanced by a minimal range of contributing musicians. The songs themselves feel lighter in tone than those of Steady Away, with a focus on space and a gentleness of character. It certainly gives a seasonal taste to the music, with the more autumnal Steady Away dropping in October 2023 and this one landing just before spring and all of its connotations kick in. There is optimism here and, on the surface at least, a carefree character. The whole album feels very assured and comfortable in its skin, resulting in a deeply satisfying listening experience. It’s his best work so far.