The Hermes Experiment’s calm exterior often hides a powerful force that darts about energetically beneath...[Its] main strength lies in its ability to adapt to the particular needs, demands and peculiarities of each piece contained on this deeply engaging collection: harp, clarinet, soprano and double bass locked in dynamic and synergistic fusion.

The rather unusual combination of harp, clarinet, soprano and double bass proves to be quite astonishingly versatile on this rich, strange programme of new commissions by nine composers, Héloïse Werner’s pure soprano taking on an almost instrumental quality at times (though she’s no slouch with text either, particular in Errollyn Wallen’s rapid-fire gun gun gun). Josephine Stephenson’s Between the war and you packs a real emotional punch, and Giles Swayne’s French-language elegy to tinned sardines is another highlight.

Misha Mullov-Abbado’s The Linden Tree conjures melancholy folk colours; Errollyn Wallen’s Gun gun gun, opening with a splash of harp, quickly reveals itself as a compressed monodrama; Oliver Leith’s Uh huh, Yeah is as languid and laid-back as its title...An imaginative first disc that mirrors our current musical landscape.

A most enticing calling card, advertising the skills of individual musicians and the liveliness and variety of Britain’s composing scene…[The opening track] immediately shows off the ensemble’s frontline asset: the vivacious soprano voice of Héloïse Werner, who pounces on individual notes and words with a tiger’s tenacity and a kitten’s glee. The other musicians are equally crucial in the album’s tapestry of sounds.