A lovely artist that recently came through some nearby airwaves, Tiny Ruins delivers the sweet voice and confident compositions of Hollie Fullbrook. Hailing from New Zealand and far from being anything like a little disaster, Tiny Ruins is a refreshing mixture of folk sensibilities and a genuinely skilled songwriter. There is a timelessness to their work. It makes me feel like a child playing at recess or doing my best to cover as much of the fairgrounds before my parents decided it was time to go home. Fullbrook’s voice entails a lifetime of experience and sings familiar stories that leave its audience floating on fantastic new memories.

The album, Brightly Painted One, opens with the song, “Me at the Museum, You in the Wintergardens” a delightful tale of young unfettered love. I’ve never had this experience, yet her melodic storytelling allows me to live through it as if it were my own. Dreamy and almost ghostly in their execution, these songs nestle sweetly into the nostalgic furls of my mind. Unique to her songs, there’s something completely forgiving about them – there’s no pretension to them whatsoever. It leaves me feeling light and completely susceptible to the gravity of her ballads. I can’t recommend Hollie Fullbrook and her work as Tiny Ruins enough. It will fill your heart and rekindle thoughts of childhood in the best kind of way.

“Me at the Museum, You in the Wintergarden” – Tiny Ruins

“Night Owl” – Tiny Ruins, live session recording in 1890’s schoolhouse in connection to the Calgary Folk Festival in Inglewood, Alberta, CA