West of Roan reimagines the eternal folk tune, “Let No One Steal Your Thyme,” in the most tender and simplest of ways, honoring both the traditional roots of the song as well as the style and artistry of British folk artist Anne Briggs.

Available on their excellent new LP, Queen of Eyes, of which is due out on Spinster July 12^th, “Let No One Steal Your Thyme” finds the duo of Annie Schermer and Channing Showalter (of Doran, an equally brilliant group, also on Spinster) highlighting the song’s poignant core through their soft harmonies and gentle fingerpicking. Their evocative interpretation easily recalls the likes of Briggs, Shirley Collins and June Tabor, of whom, you could hear in the DNA of all of West of Roan’s beautifully pastoral music. Give it a listen yourself:

Queen of Eyes is the group’s second album, and it was gorgeously captured quite minimally in a cozy off-the-grid cabin on an island off the Washington coast. This rustic environment certainly seeps into the very atmosphere of the record, giving it the feel of an Alan Lomax field recording. With the pops and crackling of a fire and the warm acoustics of the room itself shaping the sound of the record, the album feels quite lived-in and homemade. There’s a purity in that realism that makes the record feel close to the marrow and deep in the heart. Inspired by mental health, mythology and the importance of hope and friendship, this is an important and moving album that we need in this cruel and increasingly inhumane world.

Click here to preorder your copy today.