Yvonne Lyon & Boo Hewerdine - Things Found In Books

​Yvonne Lyon & Boo Hewerdine

Things Found In Books
self-released; 2025

By Jamie Funk

Yvonne Lyon and Boo Hewerdine’s *Things Found In Books* is rooted in quiet observation, drawing inspiration from the overlooked corners of everyday life. The album takes its cues from a notice board in Culzean Castle’s second-hand bookshop, where a collage of found objects—postcards, receipts, letters, and photographs—documents the lives of strangers with startling intimacy. Rather than inventing stories from scratch, Lyon and Hewerdine listen closely to what’s already there.

The collaboration between the two songwriters feels intuitive and unforced. Their voices blend and diverge with natural grace, while the instrumentation—acoustic guitars, piano, accordion, orchestral strings—stays grounded in the tactile and the human. The production favors atmosphere over excess, creating space for the songs to unfold at their own pace.

There’s a quiet exuberance to tracks like “Marion and Sydney,” and “Viennese Horses” stands out as a peculiar gem, full of stately movement and unexpected charm. Elsewhere, the mood shifts into more fragile terrain—“Down By The Harbour” is a hushed reflection on loss, memory, and the ache of things left unsaid.

Things Found In Books feels timeless not because it tries to be, but because it taps into something elemental: the power of small stories to carry weight. It’s a record made with care, and it invites the same from its listener.

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