Skep Wax are proud to present a second album by The Gentle Spring. Michael Hiscock, co-founder of legendary indiepop band The Field Mice, along with his new cohorts Émilie Guillaumot and Jérémie Orsel, have created an album that combines wisdom, wistfulness, reflections on love and celebrations of community – all threaded through a set of songs whose melodic power and sheer catchiness recall The Field Mice at their best. The music is more upbeat than on debut album Looking Back At The World. The shimmering acoustic guitars and sinuous bass are still present, but this time Michael’s and Émilie’s voices are accompanied by drums and percussion. With this new recipe, the songs sometimes remind you of early Microdisney, and sometimes The Pet Shop Boys, with deadpan, considered, unvarnished, but deeply emotive human vocals, and an insistent rhythm that drives on regardless. Depending on where you are situated, you could dance to Northernhay, or you could sit very still and just immerse yourself in it. The album title, Northernhay, is a clue to the inspirations that drive the songwriting. It is the name of a winding street that led from the Croydon suburbs where Michael lived as a kid, leading out to a wilderness, surprisingly close to the city, where foxes are seen, where the streetlights don’t penetrate – where you can get lost: one of those places where you first discover that the world is awesome, mysterious, deeply romantic and unknowable.