FOLK music is not my strong-point, but this album could prove persuasive in changing the mindset.
It’s not half bad, in fact it’s three-quarters all right, though hardly surprising given the collaborative alumni draped across the 11 tracks. There’s fret-maestro Mark Knopfler, singer-songwriter King Creosote and bluegrass star Tim O’Brien. Add la Talbot’s husband and album producer John McCusker, and band-mate Boo Hewerdine and class and clarity are a shoo-in.
The title track by Hewerdine is a supreme example, extolling the rush of a Parisian tryst accompanied by Gallic accordion and a hint of je ne sais quois-la from The Beatles White album. But for all the obvious style, the substance is provided by Talbot’s beguiling, smiling County Kildare voice.
At times it bears comparison to Bjork’s saner moments, at others that Celtic wherewithal suggested by The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan, but throughout it is unmistakeably Talbot’s own treasure. On its lonesome as on the sublime I’m Not Sorry, or in harmonic unison with one of her collaborators on Dearest Johnny or When The Roses Come Again, it is luminous.
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