After several years spent in London,Northern Ireland’s, Jayne Trimble, releases her début EP, ‘Run Onwards.’ It delivers folk, with a neat dash of Nashville but sadly falls short in many ways.

You’ll Follow Me opens the EP with a simple, picked guitar accompanied by trad-style violin. Trimble’s delicate voice enters with immediate charm but regrettably the tune lacks inventiveness over its duration by it failing to accomplish any sort of highlight; the lack of percussion is the real crime here. The lyrics embody innocence but in reality are sinners themselves with the cheesy wording. It must be said the chorus is a well-written melody and should perhaps open the song rather than revealing it late on.

The slow beginning unfortunately continues with I Let Go. Again, the song begs for drums or at least a stand out percussion instrument. Trimble however, cleverly includes a slide guitar – which is something she undoubtedly picked up in her days spent in Nashville and Bristol, Tennessee. It is the first unique sound heard on the EP. Comparing artists is seldom fair, but the Northern Ireland singer has a voice not too dissimilar of one Stevie Nicks. The harmonies are sufficient and add much-needed texture to the song. While the music is relatively pleasing to the ear, it fails to truly get going and lets down the listener for a second time.

Suddenly Shine, a high tempo, pop orientated song springs the listener into life. An immediate catchy vocal blending Irish traditional with US country and folk has surpassed the previous tracks. Her voice is a sweet delight on this track and the chorus is the best of the lot.  Life Side carries itself in similar vein as the song which precedes it. Again the harmonies are exact, if not miraculous, and the added strings create a beautiful wholeness to the song. Her talent for a chorus are once again revealed with an excellently placed tempo shift before singing “come to the life side,” and the inclusion of a drum kit gives the listener something to tap a foot to.

While there are certainly moments of beauty on the ‘Run Onwards’ EP, there are real drawbacks with the lack of percussion and weak verses. The bones of good music are there, it just needs skin that fits. The highlights are the calming voice of the Coney Island native, Trimble, and the well used essence of US country music.