I knew nothing of this lady prior to playing the record. I was struck by its maturity and soulful tone, its unfolding melodies and the exquisite innocence in the timbre of Levine’s voice. Inspired seemingly entirely by the grand country & western voicing made famous by the output from Nashville, Tennessee – the songs pluck at the heartstrings without falling foul of the dreaded schmaltz. There are moments that had me transported into vivid landscapes – the violin lines and banjo picking along with magic Telecaster tones all placing me in expansive mental wildernesses, feeling slap bang in cinematic denouements, probably atop a stallion and packing a six shooter. Finding out that this is straight outta South Africa was something of an incongruous revelation and for a couple listens it felt somewhat disingenuous until I slapped my senses and just reveled in the textures, without a locale in mind. In that headspace, Six Winters is a startling accomplishment – impeccable production, sweeping song-writing and an often sublime capability to transport the listener. This coming from a veteran of the metal scene communicates buckets. Take a listen, people!
