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Tiny Vipers is a very fitting pseudonym for the voice and talent behind it. Jesy Fortino, a diminutive girl from Seattle, has created a biting little record. With its understated guitars and resonating vocals, Tiny Vipers full length, Hands Across the Void is a formidable first release. The record is draped in dark hues casting a lovely eerie shadow.

Throughout most of the record, Fortino lulls you into a melancholic wandering through a dusky journey of somber notes and drama building pauses. But the three-minute stretch of reverberating distortion rounding out the end of Forest of Fire jostles you out of this lovely stupor to remind just long enough to snap your ears back into active listeners.

The following track Shipwreck stands in contrast; Fortino's vocals vacillate from deeper sultry tones to pixie like crescendos bringing a lighter note to an otherwise darkly contemplative record.

The apt artwork of the record portrays Fortino stumbling by lamplight through a dark forest setting. This fitting imagery personifies the feel of the shadowy sounds of the record.

The seven songs on Hands Across the Void immaculately weave the vocals of a sad imp, and reverberating acoustics of minimal guitar with the pleasantly jarring explosions of Ben Cissner's guitar accompaniment to create an almost mythical midnight jaunt through the darker side of the singer/songwriter world.

The final track, The Downward with its two-minute intro, rounds off the record with a somber lullaby laying somewhere amidst the darker sides of Iron and Wine and Neutral Milk Hotel. Fortino has created a unique sound, with a commitment to it that, rather than growing repetitive or tiresome, leaves you wishing the record were more than just seven songs long. So pour a glass of red wine, dim the lights and sit back and feel along with Tiny Vipers as Hands Across the Void down its trail of spookily honest reflection.