James Lloyd Smith – Favourite Colour (2025)
Kent’s own indie-folk craftsman James Lloyd Smith returns with ‘Favourite Colour’, a track that feels like a smile breaking through uncertainty. While his previous singles have shown his knack for warm melodies and understated storytelling, this one goes a step further, pairing his gentle, conversational style with a lush arrangement that flirts with baroque pop charm.
Built around the intimacy of nylon-string guitar, ‘Favourite Colour’ blossoms into something far richer as banjo, sweeping strings, and bursts of trumpet weave through the mix. There’s a lightness here, but it’s not naïve. Smith’s lyrics carry the knowing edge of someone who’s lived long enough to question the tidy “meet-cute” myths of rom-com love. The result is a song that’s equal parts wistful and wry, sweet without being syrupy.
Recorded in modest spaces on a well-worn 2011 MacBook Pro, the track never feels small. That’s thanks in part to the contributions of Alice Boyd’s feather-light harmonies and Nikki Smith’s propulsive drumming, which lift the song into moments of real swell and momentum.
If Nick Drake and Sufjan Stevens shared a pot of tea in the Kent countryside and decided to write about the messy magic of meeting someone new, it might sound a lot like ‘Favourite Colour’. It’s charming, it’s layered, and it lingers long after the last note fades – the kind of song that invites you back in for another listen, if only to find a new shade in its palette.
The accompanying video leans into that cinematic sensibility, with beach walks, park-bench moments, and a touch of Wes Anderson symmetry that amplify the song’s playful awkwardness. It’s a perfect visual companion – self-aware without tipping into parody.
Find out more about James Lloyd Smith on his Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
Listen to more folk music on The Other Side Reviews Folk playlist:
