ATO

On his debut studio album, A Winter Tale, British singer/songwriter Bobby Long pairs his reflective poetry with folk music. With melancholic metaphors and gloomy lyrics like “He cut his sorrow from the flesh and banned it from his love” ( “In the Frost” ), Long pens 11-tracks that are cinematic scenes of a lonely, bleak winter where “the naked branches cut the empty air” ( “A Winter Tale” ). But Long’s raspy and soulful vocals and delicate plucking on his acoustic guitar bring warmth to the album. From the rocking title track to the nostalgic southern waltz “Being a Mockingbird,” the 24-year-old musician explores folk music in a way that’s more understated and mature than some of his contemporaries like Mumford and Sons and Damien Rice.