When an artist has parallel careers in different creative industries, defining their specialism can be confusing. While I think of Johnny Flynn as a musician who also acts, albeit one I first encountered through his music being used on the soundtrack to TV show ‘The Detectorists’, a glance at his acting CV suggests he is better known in that field. He has a particular penchant for playing real people on stage and screen having had roles as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Eyre, David Bowie and Richard Burton, as well as major roles in ‘MobLand’ and the forthcoming HBO ‘Harry Potter’ series.
‘Beam Cottage’ is named after their childhood home and has him teaming up with sister Lillie who also balances the same two professions. The title comes from a low ceilinged, 400-year-old thatched roof cottage that their parents rented in a southern England village. It represented an idyllic time for the children that was interrupted by a music scholarship taking Johnny away to boarding school and then the family moving to Wales to run a B&B before their father died from cancer during Johnny and Lillie’s childhoods. That nostalgia for a time and place before they were overrun by the complications of the adult world is reflected in the album’s atmosphere as well as the choice of songs, many of which they grew up singing in the car or around the fire. Their voices complement each other with the ease that comes from growing and maturing together, Johnny’s harsher baritone soothed by Lillie’s clear soprano. The playing from The River Band together with a clear, intimate and spacious production conjures the mood of cosy nights of song around a fire.
In addition to cover versions, ‘Beam Cottage’ includes a healthy serving of the siblings’ own compositions, many of which have been revisited for the album which begins with one of Johnny’s songs, ‘The Music of the Spheres’, on which jagged guitar chords are smoothed out by Joe Harvey Whyte’s pedal steel. The song dips into the majesty and mystery of the cosmos. Johnny’s voice is upfront and urgent with Lillie’s reassuring tones underneath. ‘The Ghost of O’Donohue’ is a song that Johnny originally wrote 20 years ago inspired by a painting seen during a visit to the National Gallery in Dublin which prompted thoughts of his family’s journey away from Ireland. With its fingerpicking guitar style, this version is thoughtful and reflective while backing vocals from The Joy singing in Zulu add another layer to the family history as their mother had earlier been forced to leave her South African home due to her anti-apartheid campaigning. The fade out with the lines “in the last days of my life / I won’t know whether to laugh or cry” repeated is especially moving.
The first cover sees them tackling ‘The Boy in the Bubble’ by Paul Simon who Johnny plays in the forthcoming film about South African jazz musician and anti-apartheid campaigner Hugh Masekela, ‘The Road Home’. Like an actor providing a characterisation rather than an impression of a real person, with each cover they bring a fresh interpretation of the source material. Their version is less mellifluous than Simon’s, seeing them belt out the words and making the reference to “the bomb in the baby carriage was wired to the radio” stand out far more than the original where the focus is mainly on the “these are the days of miracle and wonder” hook line.
While Lillie has always been involved in Johnny’s recordings, the aim with ‘Beam Cottage’ was to celebrate their friendship and connection, putting them on an equal footing. This is especially evident on the deeply atmospheric ‘Lady is Risen’ where their voices work perfectly in unison throughout the song which acknowledges life’s complications in the line “you know life isn’t always like the end of your novels.” On her own composition ‘Brockwell Park’, the dreamy yet conversational tone of Lillie’s voice is highlighted. The arrangement of Johnny’s ‘Been Listening’ is particularly gorgeous with its tempo changes and sparing use of strings to heighten the drama.
Lillie’s vocal talents are showcased on Dave Von Ronk’s melancholic tale of chasing women and death, ‘Tell Old Bill’. The theme of characters who are unwilling to settle down is revisited on Hank Williams’ ‘Rambling Man’, Lillie’s voice dominant with Johnny in the supporting role while the violent fiddle playing makes it the record’s most dramatic tune. They also tackle the traditional song, ‘Hares On The Mountain’, best known in its Shirley Collins version but coincidentally also covered by Flora Hibberd on her ‘Mammoth’ album which I reviewed a mere few weeks before this one. The Flynn sibling’s version slightly changes the title to ‘Hares On A Mountain’ and aptly has Lillie taking the lead for this tale of female independence. Sacred Harp Singer’s ‘Idumea’ is delivered as a slow but stirring spiritual.
Their take on Billy Bragg’s ‘Between The Wars’ feels especially timely. Written during the time of the 1984 miners’ strike which was also seeing the first thawing of the Cold War, the period now feels less tumultuous compared with the contemporary litany of wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, climate breakdown and the potential threat of AI. The lines “theirs is a land of hope and glory / mine is the peace we knew between the wars” sound even more telling in a world where performative patriotism and outright xenophobia is more prominent than at any point in the last 80 years. Naturally, the Flynn voices are far easier on the ear than the Bard of Barking’s while the fleeting use of strings gives it added piquancy. The duo also offers a far more melodic 60s pop interpretation of Bob Dylan’s ‘Dink’s Song’ on which Lillie’s voice soars beautifully.
A version of Henry Mancini’s ‘Moon River’ captures the understated yearning and adventure of the song. In mood, it makes a companion to the concluding track, ‘Sleepyhead’, a lullaby written by their father, Eric Flynn, which makes a calming conclusion to an often-emotional album.
While I would normally be resistant to a record consisting of over 50% cover versions, I make an exception for ‘Beam Cottage’. Their interpretations always add something fresh to the originals and when placed alongside new songs and reinterpretations of some of their older songs, make it an essential purchase.
Johnny and Lillie Flynn: Beam Cottage – Out 6 November 2026 (Transgressive Records)
& Lillie Flynn – The Music of the Spheres
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
