They say it's grim up North and one listen to breakthrough singer-songwriter Brooke Bentham's opening track from debut EP 'The Room Swayed' might reinforce that sentiment - “It's funny how small things can wreck away at your life, when you're not doing anything but living inside.” The swells and plummets of the track – titled 'Nowhere Near Sense' – possess the epic alt-rock journeying of War On Drugs or Ryan Adams with the added emotional vocal depths of Sharon Van Etten or Angel Olsen. That all this is the fruits of a 21-year-old from South Shields outside of Newcastle might take you by surprise. It carries the weight of someone who's lived a hundred lives already.   

She picked up a guitar early, even attempted banjo at one stage, and started taking singing lessons at the age of 15. “I was writing a lot of Paolo Nutini inspired cheesy acoustic stuff,” she laughs, embarrassed now. Eventually her first taste of success – a song called 'Oliver' – was a turn in the road. That tune brought her the sonic direction she was working towards - showcased perfectly on 'The Room Swayed' and it's first single 'Heavy and Ephemeral'. Follow-up EP 'This Rapture' delved further, showcasing a remarkably assured yet breathtakingly vulnerable set of tracks.