The Staves & yMusic: The Way Is Read review – mind the Watford-New York gap

The suspicion that this collaboration between Watford folk trio the Staves and New York chamber ensemble yMusic might be an incongruous one seems to be borne out by the opening two tracks. Hopeless is an a cappella piece, the Staveley-Taylor sisters harmonising beautifully; by contrast, Take Me Home is a wilfully discordant battle between flute and violin, with the vocals only adding to the chaos. But from there on in it’s a far more coherent coupling, the two divergent styles complementing rather than fighting each other. The Way Is Read gets better the further in you get, the thrilling closing title track highlighting the talents of both parties.