The Little Winters is the new album from Edinburgh-born nu-folk singer and clàrsach player Anna McLuckie. The title refers to an American term describing late frosts that arrive during springtime – brief returns of winter that traditionally help farmers predict planting cycles. These moments are marked by the blooming of five plants – Redbud, Dogwood, Locust, Blackberry and Britches – natural indicators that thread their way through the record.
Written during a period of transition, The Little Winters emerged as Anna relocated from Manchester to London, stirring an unexpected and profound homesickness for Scotland.
“Having left Scotland at seventeen it surprised me that a whole decade later I suddenly started to feel this loss of place hit me with force. I realised that in uprooting myself I had discovered a neglected, detached root which was looking for new soil.”
Across the album the songs trace a journey, charting fond farewells to Manchester in ‘New Northern Lullaby’ and ‘Mister God’; deep nostalgia for the Scottish landscapes of Anna’s childhood in ‘Dark Island’, ‘Bitten Winter Skin’ and ‘Promise To Linger’ and finally a fresh sense of wonder and new love for a city still being discovered in ‘Jay Bird’. The track ‘Winterlude’, which introduces Jay Bird, features the voice of Anna’s youngest sister responding to the prompt, “What would it feel like to be a bird?” Both sides of the LP close with the darkest songs on the record – a homage to these bouts of frost.
The lead single ‘Bitten Winter Skin’ is something of a New Year’s resolution, written during the quiet, reflective days between Christmas and New Year at the end of 2023. “Next year I will bring, none of this bitterness, just Bitten Winter Skin.” Composed while sitting in an armchair in her childhood bedroom, watching the sun set over Edinburgh’s tenement rooftops, the song captures a very distinct emotion. In Scottish Gaelic they call it Cianalas – a deep, place-specific nostalgia. Its lyrics echo this unique balance of sadness, growth and belonging in equal measure.
After recording initial demos in her father’s front room in Edinburgh, preserving intimacy became central to the final recordings. The Little Winters was recorded live at the end of a garden in North London, where Anna is joined by longtime friends and collaborators George Burrage on bass, Awen Blandford on cello and vocals, and Sean Rogan, who contributes banjo and production.
Together, they shape a record that feels close, human and gently expansive.
The Little Winters will be released on Hudson Records on 24th April 2026.
Artist’s website: www.annamcluckie.co.uk
‘Bitten Winter Skin’ – official video:
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