If there’s one genre of music that is universally hated it’s folk. With its wimpy vocals and painfully gentle strumming of guitars, with lyrics that often inexplicably include wheat fields, it’s music for the wettest of ears and personalities.

And although this British comedy features a fair degree of folk music in it, you really shouldn’t hold it against it, as thankfully it has more going for it than its hippy drippy soundtrack.

Making his way by boat to the remote Wallis Island is Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden). He’s a folk singer, who had some success years back as part of the folk rock duo McGwyer Mortimer, with his partner at the time being Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan), but things went south between them when Herb – real name Chris Pinner – did the unthinkable and went off to produce a solo album, which marked the end of the partnership on both counts.

Now Herb finds himself arriving at the island to play a gig, for a fair amount of cash, where he’s met at the shore by Charles (Tim Key).

Herb expects Charles to take him to the local hotel, only to soon realise that he’s actually taking him to his own home. It also doesn’t take him long to discover that Charles is a bit of a superfan, and that he’s actually the one who has hired his services for the gig. What’s more, Herb isn’t the only person he’s invited, unbeknownst to Herb, as there’s an unexpected reunion on the cards, but will the gig go ahead?

This grown-up comedy is written by Boom favourite Tom Basden and comedian Tim Key, based on a short film they wrote together. And although its produced by Baby Cow, who have delivered such dark comedies such as Nighty Night, Marion and Geoff and all things Alan Partridge, the tone is far more upbeat.

That said, Key plays his usual awkward, bumbling character, as if Sidekick Simon, from Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge had fallen on hard times and found himself on this remote island. If not, Charles is his spiritual twin, desperately wanting to be quick witted but consistently struggling with the delivery as well as misreading the room.

His awkwardness has its charm here, as he, Herb and Nell bond against a stormy island backdrop, which heightens the occasional tension between them.

And thankfully the folk music featured isn’t wholly offensive; perhaps it would have been different in Mulligan’s other half Marcus Mumford (yes of ...and Sons fame) had anything to do with it, but thankfully Basden took care of all the song writing duties himself; and to be fair to him, none of them make you immediately feel like jumping off the closest cliff, which is mildly impressive in itself considering the genre.

It also marks a strong directorial debut for James Griffiths, who also helmed their 2007 short, capturing the spiky nature of the comedy against an often bleak yet stunning landscape.

At its heart it’s about relationships, old and new, both romantic and platonic, and the choppy waters we can find ourselves in when dealing with them.

And as annoying as Key can be, this role gives his usual knowingly awkward shtick some welcome warmth, especially as the friendship between Charles and Herb develops.

It’s a terribly English comedy, which sounds like a slighted comment but isn’t meant as such, with its rich vein of human emotions and quirky humour, making it not only a welcome addition to Baby Cow’s legacy, but also a rather touching and bittersweet experience.