This unmistakably European trio hail from several disparate musical and cultural backgrounds. Initially a solo project started in Sweden by Viennese-born singer/ songwriter Tanja Frinta, Lonely Drifter Karen evolved into a band when she moved to Barcelona and met Mallorcan keyboard player Marc Melia Sobrevias and Italian drummer Giorgio Menossi. Their musical histories encompass folk, classical, experimental, indie pop, rock and cabaret to name just a few. This variety of experience is evident on the album, and its cohesiveness doesn't suffer despite some wonderfully offbeat sounds. Welcome guests include Dana Janssen from Akron/Family and Emily Jane White.

A self-assured progression from their impressive debut, Grass is Singing, this record sees the band's already large repertoire of sounds enhanced by brass and woodwind arrangements, pedal steel and innovative percussion. There is a less singer/ songwriter feel than their first album as they embrace their ability to work as a trio. There are elements of vintage jazz and cabaret, folk songs which swell with longing and lyrics with no lack of subtle humour. The songwriting is winningly naïve at times and bitingly knowing at others. The words to 'Something's Scorching' – "The only tragedy is your uncertainty / Why are you so passive?" – sound particularly mocking when sung in Frinta's soulful yet childlike voice.

Influences come from far and wide; there are echoes here of Billie Holiday and Kurt Weill through to classic musicals and Yann Tiersen. An incredibly evocative record, it ambles through the seasons at varying pace. Spring in particular is depicted frequently and artfully. The title and release date are satisfyingly relevant and there is no better time to listen to these songs than when the scent of fresh blooms drifts through the window. Tracks such as 'Show Your Colours' call to mind Parisian pavement cafés in springtime with a bustling, blossom-tinged intensity. The tracks are permeated by an infectious sense of joy and innocence – even in the more sombre moments, things don't seem so bad. A charming, inventive soundtrack to the days becoming longer and warmer.
Alexis Somerville