‘Hopeful / Hopeless’ has been a long time coming.  Reb Fountain started writing the EP while on tour with The Eastern and recorded it in 2014 with collaborators and kindred spirits Sam Prebble and Dylan Storey at The Wine Cellar in Auckland.

However, since recording these tracks, Prebble sadly passed away.

The EP is a mix of alt-folk beauty and sadness, although this was already present in the songs, in Fountain’s melancholic (and pitch-perfect) delivery, and the frequently mournful violin tones, although the slinky, shuffling Gold shows more sass than sadness.

The passing of Prebble, a multi-talented writer and performer, colours the songs on ‘Hopeful / Hopeless’ with a sense of loss, although the performances are a testament to the connection between the three performers.

This is evidenced on Dance With Death Alive, where Fountain, Prebble and Storey gel together perfectly, the instruments weaving in and around Fountain’s vocals, becoming focal points in their own right.

‘Hopeful / Hopeless’ is a very good, very strong collection, and was a taster of things to come – Fountain’s full-length album with Prebble and Storey, ‘Little Arrows’.

Short at only five songs, but perfect in texture, arrangement, performance and songwriting. Welcome back, Reb Fountain.

Available From: Southbound Distribution