London's Leaving Me

'London's Leaving Me', the fifth record by Nottingham's Lorna and its fourth on the Minneapolis-based record label Words On Music, finds the sextet offering another matchless collection of earnest, egoless indie-pop featuring the unmistakable voices of husband-and-wife songwriting team Mark Rolfe and Sharon Cohen-Rolfe. The nine-song album opens with 'Like Alastair Sim' - a ballad in which gorgeous melodies steeped with heartfelt optimism unfold at a deliberate pace against a growing soundscape of strings, bells, and sparse electronics using the song's acclaimed Scottish actor namesake as its thematic guide. The single 'Wayne Mills' follows with a summery blend of Scottish and indie-pop akin to Belle and Sebastian and Camera Obscura in which jangly guitars, analog synths, and languid, sun-soaked melodies are showcased as the Rolfes recount a tale about a neighborhood friend. The song features a guest appearance from Andy Mellon (Bellowhead, Damon Albarn) on trumpet. As a mid-album counterpoint to the densely orchestrated pop gems that precede and follow it, Lorna offers 'Smothered In Hugs' - a stark interpretation of the 1994 Guided By Voices song in which an acoustic guitar anchors the Rolfe's richly textured vocals to create a marked contrast to the atonal low-fi buzz of the GBV original. 'London's Leaving Me' closes with the Matt Harrison-penned 'You, Me, and the Holy Ghost' - a reverie that captures Lorna's dual mastery of tunefulness and ambience as Sharon Cohen-Rolfe effortlessly coos melodies from the lips of Julee Cruise while patient, tremolo-infused guitars summon Angelo Badalamenti's work on Twin Peaks.​