Don’t panic: If there were any wolves lurking in There Were Wolves, chances are they’d be the cuddly, slightly misunderstood type. And they’d probably have a penchant for knitted sweaters.

 Although it’s difficult to whittle UK four-piece The Accidental down to a one-word genre, let’s do it quick and get it over with: pop-folk. If either of those words bothers you, rest assured that I mean them in the nicest possible way – The Accidental’s debut There Were Wolves is lovely, quiet, and the kind of uplifting that puts a little smirk at the corner of your mouth for the rest of the day.

Formed by The Memory Band’s Stephen Cracknell and Tunng frontman Sam Genders following a series of accidental meetings (hence the name), The Accidental are the latest addition to the lo-fi, confessional genre-of-the-moment. It’s a genre that often slips into a kind of overly-twee contrivance in the wrong hands, but The Accidental prove that they are indeed in possession of the correct extremities for the job – never letting There Were Wolves slip into the realm of ‘too much’.  

Things start off quiet forebodingly in ‘Knock Knock’, a rhythmic opener that feels as if you’re following a winding, overgrowth path deeper and deeper into the woods. The weird vocals and plodding guitar sound like some unauthorised soundtrack to Hansel & Gretel.   But these are happy woods. Following on at track 3 is the poppy ‘I Can Hear Your Voice’, a simple, intimate little ditty laced with nice hooks and even the odd tambourine that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Josh Pyke album. The gently uplifting pace continues throughout the album, with ‘Jaw of a Whale’ and closer ‘Time and Space’ the other standouts. A couple of instrumental tracks also appear, recalling the tone of Mark Mothersbaugh’s contributions to Wes Anderson movies.

 Lyrically There Were Wolves deals with loss, new love, and everything in between. Again, intimate vocals over acoustic guitars are familiar territory, but are handled well here. It’s the kind of album that is unaffectedly vulnerable, at times dreamy and at times even a bit catchy. Perfect for a walk in the woods.

The Accidental website