The concept of patchwork makes perfect sense when taking in Houdei’s debut, released by Todmorden’s reliably sharp-eared Basin Rock label (home also to Juni Habel and Jim Ghedi, among others). From languid dreaminess and earthy handclap-propelled hoedowns to turbulent unease and miniature excursions into something approaching folk-dub, This Bed Was Made for Me covers considerable ground in terms of tone, mood, and points of reference, but it all ultimately adds up to seamlessly unified whole that feels more meatily substantial than its impressive individual parts. If we consider ‘psychedelic’ to mean the subtle fraying of the edges of reality or conceptualise it as an additive capable of evoking a refreshing sense of the unknown and unpredictable to reassuringly familiar settings, then the dreamily sprawling, subtly otherworldly, timelessly sepia-tinged sound of This Bed Was Made for Me surely qualifies as psych-folk in the literal sense of the term. Inspired by the lush surroundings of LA’s Topanga Canyon where many of these songs were written, the opening “The Ground Here” (featuring Big Thief’s Buck Meek) sounds impossibly majestic for deriving from a few simple acoustic instruments. Complete with ominous references to wildfires that have been ravaging the surrounding greenery, Houdei’s careful balancing between melancholy introspection and near-rapturous build-ups brings to mind Fleet Foxes’ Helplessness Blues. The ghost story meets love testimonial “Night Fright” feels rooted in the banjos, fiddles, and surreal goings-on of the old weird Americana rooted in the mountains of Missouri, where Houdei grew up, while its brief companion interlude, which gives the album its name, is more experimental, stretching the vocals into strange, disembodied, and echo-laden shapes. Elsewhere, the weightlessly cascading pirouettes of “Life Inside The Hourglass” – another example of using reverb and echo to make sparse ingredients sound positively grand – hints at unchained psych-folk innovators à la Linda Perhacs, while “Fennel Knows” hints at the sparse natural pull of Juni Habel’s songs and “Burnin’” hints at what Houdei’s interpretation of the blues might consist of. Having set out to create an album that feels tangibly warm, Houdei and lead producer and core collaborator/vocal foil Haley Heynderickx have succeeded handsomely. The woozily nuanced sound of This Bed Was Made for Me feels like a warm hug, or floating on your back in a thermal bath. Or, indeed, like being covered with a thick, cosy quilt as snowflakes fall softly in the darkness outside the window.