Poppy and Friends

I will say that Poppy has a voice you'll love. It's a high-pitched female Jeffery Lewis but more reminiscent of Kate Nash. - Bristol Evening Post

http://beardedmagazine.co.uk/wp/?p=1254

Poppy & Friends form are a happy medium, that is they manage to straddle the ground that lies between anti-folk legend Kimya Dawson and adorable London type, Emmy the Great effortlessly. What this essentially means then is that Beautiful To Me is a rough shod and, at times kooky record – a combination of amateurism and roots makes for an endearing charm but at times this leaves you wanting something more.

The initial acoustic romps soon cave in, becoming formulaic and ultimately a turgid record. ‘Tuesday’ is perhaps the biggest culprit lacking the allure of ‘Lady Lady’ or the estuary charm of ‘The Strangest Creature in the House’ – a track underpinned by a bounding bassline and Poppy’s chiming vocals. ‘Mayonnaise’ is a direct descendant of Dawson’s fantastic ‘Loose Lips’, scatter lyrics and a ramshackle chord progression stuck tight to Poppy’s straight out the boozer vocals. Beautiful To Me isn’t purely a record of cheap imitations – ‘My Good Friend’ takes a more tactful approach, gentle finger-picking is marked by flute works and somehow Poppy sounds a far softer creature than she does at the opposite end of the record.

It’s perhaps a little unfair to compare this record to its anti-folk cousins though; rather like the Bobby McGhees, Poppy and Friends stand separate from their peers both this and that side of the Atlantic. Poppy and Friends might sound cute but there are a few e-numbers in store here. It’s ramshackle to the point of collapse and whilst it’s lovely to the letter at times it’s hard not to feel like something a little more profound. Don’t go all highbrow by any means but maybe next time we drink Panda Pops in the park, is their any chance we could do so whilst playing Trivial Pursuit or at least reading Douglas Adams rather than Dan Brown. - Bearded Magazine