Annie Baylis – Darkest Horse

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A great volume of water has passed under many bridges since the 2014 review of A Little Light, an EP from Annie Baylis and her then-musical partner Gareth Lee. Now, in December 2022, we finally get to hear her solo debut EP, Darkest Horse. Rest assured that the wait has been worthwhile; the offering is an assured and compelling thing of beauty. Don’t just take my word for it; the great John McCusker is smitten too, “Once in a while, an artist & record comes along that completely stops me in my tracks, Annie Baylis is a perfect example of this. I can’t stop listening to ‘Darkest Horse’, the fantastic arrangements with that beautiful voice…it truly is wonderful.”

Prior to her work with Gareth, Annie played with Kola, an acoustic four-piece from the West Country who toured widely, including supporting Tim Minchin at the Eden Sessions in 2012. Having worked with The Changing Room at a special Remembrance Day event at The Lost Gardens of Heligan in 2017, Annie reprised her working relationship with Tanya Brittain by contributing to the latter’s Hireth album. More recently, Annie’s excellent arrangements and playing are to be heard on the excellent The Beacon release from Harbottle & Jonas, with whom she also toured.

That this much-anticipated release has been a long time coming is possibly not a surprise when one considers that Annie was concurrently successfully completing a Master’s Degree, working part-time at the local supermarket, training to be a therapist, and renovating a property. Never a dull moment in the Baylis household.  

The four songs which make up the EP take the listener through a genuinely emotional journey, covering topics such as loss and grief, endurance, mental health, politics and hope. Whilst firmly based upon contemporary, personal experiences and perspectives, the skill of her lyric writing is such that there is a universality to much of the subject matter with which to engage, empathise and appreciate.

The first track on the EP is Seeds. Written shortly after the news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine broke and inspired by the story of the Ukrainian lady giving Russian troops sunflower seeds, the message of empathy and understanding conveyed is thought-provoking and acts as a reminder that even in times of war, we’re all just human beings with potentially the same, thoughts, desires and feelings. The opening piano chords, with the faintest hint of percussive clicks, lead into an emotional, ethereal vocal delivery before graceful strings lead an instrumental break, and the final single piano notes gently drift away following a promise of

I’ll come home to you
I’ll come home 
I’ll come 
Home

The title track, Darkest Horse, follows. The sound of a delicate, haunting harmonium opening, the introduction of keyboard, and, possibly, the slightest hint of strings is embellished by gorgeous multi-tracked, swirling, layered vocals, which build in both volume and intensity before fading with wind sound effects at the end, on a song which alludes to mental health survival. Annie explains that using the rational thinking part of the brain, together with the irrational, as a force for good develops an internal strength, which she calls the Darkest Horse.

The third track, First & Last, is a song written in memory of her best friend’s daughter Rosie, who passed away in February 2021 at the age of only fifteen months. A song of inspiration but also frustration that someone so vulnerable could be taken so young, the song will resonate with, and hopefully act as a musical solace to, those undergoing similar grief whilst also acting as a stark reminder to all of life’s fragility. The opening piano chords and dolorous vocal delivery, together with the wash of melancholic strings, provide the perfect accompaniment to the lyrics in a song which would bring tears to a granite statue.   

One birthday, one Christmas
One chance to be alive
Your shortened existence
Was one of a kind

The final track, Dying Quiet, continues the pensive vein, in a song written on a ferry returning from Germany, as Annie contemplates the Covid pandemic, those lost to it and the expectations placed upon key workers exposed to hitherto unknown dangers. Here again, piano is to the fore, with harmonised vocals delivering a catchy melody before a celestial-sounding outro sees the final piano notes drift into the ether.

Dark Horse is a beautiful debut EP from Annie Baylis and a thoroughly enticing introduction. I’m sure that I will not be the only one relishing the prospect of a full album.

Order Darkest Horse via Bandcamp: https://anniebaylis.bandcamp.com/album/darkest-horse

Website: https://www.anniebaylismusic.com/