Waking The Witch, who played Fibbers, in York, on Sunday (December 4) are a real conundrum - the Rubik's Cube of the acoustic music scene. They have a bewildering number of combinations, from folk to blues to pop, which all ultimately lead to a perfect whole.

The between-songs chat of the four Yorkshire-based singer-songwriters reveal four very different personalities: Becky has the most natural wit; Rachel, the one-liners; Jools, an endearing shyness; while Patsy is the soul of the band.

The similarity exists in the quality of their songwriting and singing. There is no weak link. Their harmonies and acoustic guitar accompaniments provide a superb vehicle for their songs. And what songs.

Jools Parker's Poet Of Harlem transported us beautifully to the banks of the River Nile while Becky Mills took us closer to home with the brilliantly quirky Woke Up In Whitby. If there were any hard hearts in the room then Rachel Goodwin's I Can't Breathe must surely have melted them on the spot, while Patsy Matheson's Like Everybody is simply the greatest tribute to another artist I have ever heard.

Waking The Witch have released two albums; Like Everybody and Hands And Bridges. They deserve widespread recognition of their talents and indeed, like Rubik's Cube, they should find their way into everybody's home. Details on the band can be obtained from www.wakingthewitch.co.uk

Steve Perkins,

Peel Close,

York.

Updated: 10:25 Tuesday, December 06, 2005