Ma Polaine

Event Information

Ma Polaine’s Great Decline are an award-winning band praised by MOJO Magazine
for their unique blend of pop, folk, blues, and Americana, embarking on an exciting
UK tour following the February release of their fifth studio album, Monster Swan.
This album is a return to the grittier, blues side of Ma Polaine, and whilst that
influence is evident, the final album still carries their usual “hard to pigeon-hole”
hallmark.
“Japanese Knotweed” flies that flag most strongly, the somewhat unhinged story line
backed by a similarly unhinged arrangement. “Gasoline Can” and “Told You Lately”
hold the most blues about them, albeit from different camps of the genre.
With airplay on BBC 6 and BBC Radio 2, and the support of Cerys Matthews, the
band's genre-defying charm unfolds through songs that explore the intricacies of
human connections, weaving tales of light and dark with uplifting melodies and
heartfelt storytelling.
Their recent live album release drew this comparison from Fatea magazine: “a
cocktail that is one part Beth Gibbons from Portishead, a measure of Holiday edge
and one part Rockabilly growl”.
MOJO - 4 stars - "Ma Polaine’s Great Decline have evolved a pop-folk-blues-
americana style that is warmly familiar, yet is sufficiently unhinged to keep you
guessing…"
Morning Star – 5 stars. "Packer’s voice has a superb range, but it is her
interpretative skill that entrances, with the effortless shifts that imbue her evocative
lyrics with rare emotional charge"
Folk Radio UK – "..an album to be cherished, replete with enchanting musical treats
around every corner".  
Blues Matters – "This is 21st-century music chock full of mystery and acute
observation" 
R2 Magazine: “…an intangible element peculiar to themselves” 
Roots Music Report: “it’s the singer’s compelling and never overplayed delivery,
however, that gives this set its sustained, just-under-the surface intensity”. 
Blues And Soul Magazine: “The icing on the cake is their vocalist. Stunning singer
Beth Packer is someone to get to know”.