As
We Are Muffy
, the acoustic indie folk duo of
Nick Duffy
(
the Lilac Time
) and
Angeline Morrison
the Mighty Sceptres
) debuted in 2018 with
The Charcoal Pond
, an album inspired by their memories of growing up in Birmingham, England. Its sound drew on spare troubadour folk, '60s folk-pop, and U.K. folk, with the occasional indie pop tune thrown in for good measure. Following a gap easily explained by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and their involvement with the other projects (a pair of
Morrison
solo outings plus a pair of
Lilac Time
albums), they return six years later with a tweaked sound that's more indebted to traditional and timeless folk on their sophomore LP,
Lost Things Returning
. The use of centuries-old instruments, including recorders and fiddles, goes a long way in carrying out this effect, as do the medieval melodies and semi-drone implied in songs like "Singbird" and "Good Again." Also contributing to this vintage effect are earthy, relatable lyrics dedicated to things like "Bread Pudding" and the reality of "all manner of things" going downhill with time ("Poor things/Poor things") on "Good Again." They break out more of a modern-sounding sophistication on tracks including "The Way," which sounds something like a
Colin Blunstone
demo, the lightly grooving "Qwerty Letter," and with the implied hula sway of "Calypso Lullaby," all of which add an ear-friendly warmth to the proceedings while keeping arrangements sparse. Another charming release, if a less-focused one,
feels like spending time with friends. ~ Marcy Donelson