Earlier this year Perth trio The Holy Smoke released the single ‘Lay Your Head Down’, which was an example of just how much beauty can be created when three talented and accomplished individuals decide to make music together, as they been doing since meeting at a creative retreat in 2016. They have extensive musical experience: Rose Parker has toured extensively throughout Australia, USA and Canada as one half of the Velvet Janes, supporting artists including Arlo Guthrie, Ani DiFranco, Luka Bloom and The Black Sorrows; Delilah Rose is a 2018 WAM Award nominee, 2019 ISC Songwriting Comp nominee and 2019 WA Country Music Award winner, and Karlee Rae is a top graduate from WAAPA, is in her 20th year of vocal and piano coaching, has toured internationally and recorded multiple albums and EPs.
Happily, that single was just the entree to their sound: they have now released the five-song EP The River. Water is the common theme for all of the songs, although each song is quite different. There is a range of moods on the EP, but overall the trio’s gospel, country folk and soul sound is sublime. This is the sort of music that you can listen to when you need a motivating start to the day, or you want to reminded that there is beauty in the world – or you simply want to be transported, because it’s easy to lose yourself inside these harmonies and wish you could stay there for a while.
The River is available now:
Apple Music | iTunes | Spotify