Leeds artist Toby Noble is a composer and acoustic guitarist who has released his latest E.P. Acoustic Quartet with a few helping hands.

By Jane Howkins.

   The Acoustic Quartet E.P. is the latest E.P. from local folk artist Toby Noble, and this time he’s brought a few friends along with him for the ride, as the title of the E.P. suggests. We reviewed Noble’s Rivers E.P. in 2015 and found it to be a very unique début release, so hopes were held high for this, and we are pleased to announce that there was no need to feel disappointed.

This time around, Noble has enlisted the talents of Katy Ryder (flute/whistles), Evan Davies (mandolin) and Sam Quintana (Double Bass), who together have managed to create an excellent folky sound which follows the British tradition, as well as having a hint of the chamber folk genre about it. It’s important to note that Noble’s work is all instrumental on this E.P., and whilst that may put some off it really works well here, letting the beautiful music the quartet have created together shine through on it’s own.

And it really is beautiful. The melodies creep up on you with first track The Works, before gliding into the ethereal The Drum And Castle Set, which then moves into the last song on the E.P., called Atlantic Community. There’s a flow between the three tracks that works extremely well, with a similarity meaning that these could be three different parts of the same song. Don’t get the wrong impression though – the songs on this E.P. are distinct enough to not become bland, and there’s nothing boring about it.

It would have been nice for there to have been a couple more songs on the E.P. as three tracks seems rather short, but if that’s our only real gripe then Noble and co. have certainly created a great musical experience on the Acoustic Quartet E.P. At times, it’s almost as if you can imagine yourself sat in front of a log fire in some medieval tavern in the woods, listening to the quartet play – and for that we raise our hats to the four musicians.