These days, we seem to live our lives at high speed. In an ideal world, we’d all like to take the time to smell the roses, as the old saying goes. With this idea in mind, I ventured back, tentatively, into the murky depths of the Red Guitar Music inbox after a much-needed break (a break that would stretch to nearly a year, but that’s a whole other story). I found myself drawn to a small, unassuming (in a good way) release by a folk duo from Kent. Simone Lincoln and Matt Evans comprise Paper Verses, and ‘Life Lines’ is their debut EP.

As I was born and raised in Kent, music from the county will always catch my attention, and ‘Life Lines’ was recorded at Big Jelly Studios in Ramsgate and engineered by Mike Collins (Allo Darlin’). As an aside, that recent Allo Darlin’ record really is rather lovely…Where were we? Oh yes, the aforementioned Paper Verses. Musically, the EP is unadorned and uncluttered with Matt adding vocal harmonies and flat-picked acoustic guitar to Simone’s classically trained voice, a voice comparable to Sandy Denny and Celia Humphris of Trees fame. It’s this sparseness that proves the EPs strength with just a little violin and/or harmonium gently humming in the background to add colour and flesh out the sound.

Opening track, and recent single, ‘A Song for Life’ is a perfect example as Matt explains, “The tune started as an endless, repetitive loop used to send my small children to sleep. Repurposed during the COVID pandemic, the words speak from the weird time when the whole world suddenly found itself on the same page. I would not ordinarily call myself a spiritual person, but that time made me think more about what it is to be human and that which connects us all “. ‘A Song for Life’ is beautifully constructed, from the sounds of nature that usher in the song to Matt’s intricate guitar lines. There’s a feeling of being as one with the world that we so badly missed during the dark days of the pandemic.

‘All the time that sails by’ brings us back to real life, for want of a better term, and the shifting nature of time and relationships. Again, thoughtfully constructed with Simone and Matt harmonising beautifully. My favourite track of the four on offer here is the haunting ‘Have A Heart’. Clocking in at almost six minutes, ‘Heart’ never overstays its welcome, building slowly with Simone’s beguiling vocal perfectly augmented by Matt’s understated harmony, while the instrumental midsection is especially fine. The EP concludes with ‘Citalopram Morning’, which certainly adds a more modern lyrical twist to proceedings. Citalopram, for those not aware, is a drug used in the treatment of depression, OCD, etc. Simone has a background as a music therapist and psychotherapist, which adds weight to such lines as “Though it seems that another day is dawning, another day another Citalopram morning - embrace the grey, it could be worse, it could be black”. It’s an interesting juxtaposition to ‘A Song for Life’ and reminds the listener that folk music can illuminate issues affecting an ever-increasing number of people.

A short but sweet introduction to Paper Verses that’s well worth the time of folk fans and beyond.

Paper Verses will release ‘Life Lines’ on February 20th, 2026.

PRE SAVE LINK HERE

The duo will be performing at various UK venues and festivals across the summer:

LIVE DATES

26th Feb - support for Sam Baxter & Merl Harbron - Rosslyn Court, Margate - Tickets

31st May - support for Julian James & Beci Kate (Australian Country Blues), Tom Thumb Theatre, Margate - Tickets

5th July - Sandwich Folk Festival - Tickets

14th July - support slot Dartford Folk Club - Tickets

12th August - Broadstairs Folk Festival - Tickets

12-13th September - South Downs Festival - Tickets