Through the Clouds

British duo Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker have risen to star status lately on the English acoustic scene, earning last year's Best Duo award from the BBC Folk Awards and across-the- board praise for two self-released albums, most recently 'Nothing Can Bring Back The Hour', with its lush single 'Silverline'. Clarke and Walker release a new EP, 'Through The Clouds,' via Rough Trade, featuring a handful of the best tracks from their small catalogue, rearranged anew. 'Through The Clouds' is meant as an introduction to the duo; in addition to 'Silverline' it features a new, stripped-down version of 'Done' (ballads on opposite sides of love and loneliness), an alternate mix of the spooky Shirley Collins cover 'Hares On The Mountain' and the original album version of 'The Tangled Tree', a brilliant showcase of Clarke's vocal range and expression. While The Guardian anointed them "chamber folk" (they certainly cut their teeth in that thriving part of the UK music scene), Clarke is an