New Malden folk-pop troubadour Luke Sital-Singh is set to unfurl his third EP, Tornados, just over half a year after his previous release, Old Flint. It’s an impressive turnaround for the singer-songwriter whose reached dizzying heights on the hypometer, lauded by numerous outlets for his inventive take on a well-worn genre and garnering comparisons to Josh Ritter, Ben Howard and Bon Iver. Indeed, gossamer melodies often buckle under the emotional weight of Sital-Singh’s yearning vocals; the layers, whilst many, are stripped to the bone, there’s the occasional propensity for gigantic soundscapes, and dynamics are a vital thread – he can flip between a clarion earsplitter to a rumbly croak.

On Tornados, Sital-Singh forgoes the sound of his unsigned past, instead venturing into a grander dominion. Now attached to Parlophone, and with the help of Iain Archer on knob-twiddling duties (whose recent work includes the debut from the indispensable Jake Bugg), is taking strides confidently, and in doing so, erring towards acoustic pop rather than the folk side of things (though they remain in a skeletal form).

“How To Lose Your Life”, featuring an opening hook not dissimilar to a certain middle-class stadium-folk troupe, sees gorgeous female harmonies blur with Sital-Singh’s heartache-wrought words. There’s majestic soaring baritones in the background and rampant percussion accelerates the drama unfolding: “I will lose my life to the love I find…” The demo version of “Nearly Morning” rekindles the memory of dawn frost. It’s sparse and, with the help of Justin Vernon-esque choral harmonies, transforms from a cosy, intimate cut dripping with a frustratingly familiar motif (Snow Patrol? Athlete?) into a ballad that sounds like it’s being sung into the great unknown whilst a single tear creeps down Sital-Singh’s cheek.

This EP marks a new chapter for the London artist. He’s got the backing of the big dogs – not just by way of compliments anymore, but financially too – and given the amount of people expecting great things, there’s probably a spot of pressure on Luke Sital-Singh to deliver cold hard results. It’s evident in his altered direction on this third EP. Tornados maybe doesn’t break as much ground as he did on his music last year, but it’s perfectly pleasant pop. Drenched in heartstring-tuggin’ phrases and earnest riffs, he’s got potential to fill the currently vacant endearingly-lovelorn-acoustic-posterboy spot in the charts where Ben Howard has been sat for many, many months. It’s a folk coup d’etat – all hail the new king.