The folk singer's delicate fingers barely graze the piano keys, and her ethereal voice holds a full Attic venue in collective silent admiration. Her gifts for us - the haunting beauty of gentle piano-led arrangements shaped by the beloved landscape of her Yorkshire Dales upbringing. Each song as pure as the Dale’s water and as gentle as its rolling contours. Natalie’s music sure hits a sweet spot, warmed by vivid storytelling lyrics viewed through the lens of God’s own country and influenced by the people who reside there.
Recent EP Come Into The Garden was recorded in various locations across North Yorkshire’s Dales. To further deepen the vintage feel of the music, she recorded the tracks on an old reel to reel tape recorder that belonged to her grandfather - you can hear the whirring mechanisms through the tracks’ quieter moments. Tonight, the songs are accompanied only by the occasional clink of glasses and the low motor hum of a fridge behind the venue’s small bar. Confident in her chat between numbers, she clearly feels at home in an independent venue like Leeds’ Attic.
Closing with the haunting and painfully beautiful title track of the EP, the unhurried pace invites the song to be fully savoured - each delicate note weaving a rich tapestry of English countryside peace and tranquility.
Driving home afterwards, I wonder if Natalie Wildgoose has created and delivered a magical ability of slowing down time - through music. In these increasingly digitally complex and fraught times we live in, that is no small accomplishment.
Words by Pete Jackson
Natalie Wildgoose official
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