Every year the indie folk universe ships another crate of sad acoustic records wrapped in fog, pine trees, and carefully distressed knitwear. Most of them disappear into the same algorithmic compost heap they came from. Will Hanco’s ‘Storm Before The Calm’ somehow escapes that fate by sounding genuinely lived in, as if these songs were dragged through mud, sleepless nights, and several cups of coffee that went cold before sunrise.
The six track EP arrives carrying enough emotional baggage to fill the back seat of a touring hatchback, yet Hanco never mistakes grief for spectacle. Written in the wake of his father’s passing, these songs feel less like dramatic confessions and more like someone quietly rebuilding a house after a storm while the neighbors are still arguing about the weather. His airy baritone hovers somewhere between worn out and determined, giving the record an honesty that many of his folk contemporaries spend entire careers trying to manufacture.
Opening track ‘Outlier’ immediately kicks down the cabin door that modern folk often politely knocks on. The percussion moves with purpose and the guitars stretch outward until the songs feel larger than the bedroom walls where they were made. Hanco understands that intimacy does not have to mean smallness. Even in its quieter moments the EP feels cinematic, as if every acoustic flourish and distant swell of sound is trying to turn personal sorrow into something enormous enough to stand inside.
‘Heaven Below’ deserves special mention simply because it refuses to behave like another streaming service approved campfire anthem. The melodies dig in their heels while the production allows the song to breathe and stumble in all the right places. At a time when so many independent artists are polishing every rough edge into oblivion, Hanco leaves enough cracks in the walls for real emotion to leak through.
The self production gives the entire project a sense of ownership that cannot be faked. Layered guitars, ambient textures, orchestral percussion, and moments of near breaking vocals create a record that constantly shifts between restraint and release. It sounds like someone who spent a long time alone with difficult thoughts and eventually decided to turn the room itself into an instrument. Plenty of artists cite Bon Iver and Ben Howard as influences. Far fewer remember to bring an actual personality into the studio.
‘Storm Before The Calm’ succeeds because it never asks for sympathy and never wallows in its own sadness. Instead it offers six songs that feel weathered, patient, and surprisingly resilient. In an era where indie folk often resembles an expensive candle trying very hard to have feelings, Will Hanco has made a record with genuine weight. The storm may be in the title, but the real surprise is how much light breaks through the clouds before the final note fades.
About Will Hanco
Brighton-based indie folk-rock artist Will Hanco returns with his most personal and fully realized body of work to date, the six-track EP ‘Storm Before The Calm’, a self-produced release shaped by grief, reflection, and creative resilience.
Originally from Yorkshire, Hanco has steadily built a reputation for his immersive songwriting, combining intricate fingerpicking, driving rhythmic foundations, and an airy baritone vocal that carries a subtle ‘80s tonal edge. Drawing from the likes of Ben Howard, Hozier, Bon Iver, and Gregory Alan Isakov, his sound bridges intimate folk textures with cinematic scope, underpinned by nature-led imagery and emotionally direct lyricism.
His work has already garnered significant attention across the UK, including BBC Introducing Track of the Day, alongside high-profile sync placements on Netflix’s Love Is Blind and BBC One’s The One Show. With ‘Storm Before The Calm’, Hanco steps into a new phase, one defined not only by sonic expansion, but by a deeper sense of purpose.
Written in the aftermath of his father’s sudden passing, ‘Storm Before The Calm’ emerged from a period of isolation in which music became both refuge and necessity. Retreating to his bedroom studio, Hanco immersed himself in every stage of the creative process, from writing and arrangement through to production and mixing. What began as a means of processing loss evolved into a cohesive and emotionally resonant project.
Across the record, delicate, close-mic’d vocals sit against layered arrangements of acoustic and electric guitars, slide textures, ambient soundscapes, and orchestral percussion. The dynamic range is central to its impact, shifting from hushed, introspective passages to moments of raw, unfiltered intensity where vocals break into rasped, near-shouted release.
Opening track ‘Outlier’ sets the tone with driving percussion and expansive guitar work, balancing momentum with restraint, while lead single ‘Heaven Below’ showcases Hanco’s ability to craft compelling, emotionally charged indie-folk that feels both familiar and distinctly his own. It’s a track that highlights his melodic instinct and nuanced production approach, reinforcing his position within the genre while subtly pushing its boundaries.
“This EP was written during a time where a lot in my life wasn’t certain. It came at a point where I felt disconnected from the outside world during my father’s passing, and I was trying to make sense of everything around me again, one day at a time. This EP was my only outlet in navigating how I was feeling, enabling me to reflect and put my next foot forward. It became an outlet for things I didn’t really know how to process at the time, and an honest body of work, and an important step forward.”
At its core, ‘Storm Before The Calm’ is not simply a record about loss, but about continuation. It documents a pivotal moment in Hanco’s life while laying the foundation for what comes next, an artist refining his voice, expanding his sonic palette, and carrying forward the influence that first set him on his path.
With a growing catalogue of national support and a clear artistic identity, Will Hanco enters 2026 as one of the UK’s most compelling emerging voices in indie folk, grounded in authenticity, and unafraid to explore the weight and complexity of lived experience.
SOURCE: Official Bio
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