This weeks Roots CDs reviewed

MAMA
Crow Coyote Buffalo Fly Like a Sprite Records★★★
Take a picture of this: Janis Joplin's freewheeling spirit crossed with Joni Mitchell's lyrical density. Add a tincture of The Roches' earthy harmonies, and you've got a whisper of what Mama offer on their tingling debut, Crow Coyote Buffalo. Mama are a duo featuring Sarah McQuaid, a long-established folk singer and guitarist, and Zoë Pollock, whose club anthem Sunshine On A Rainy Dayfeatures here as a raggle taggle bonus track. Both are now based in Cornwall, and their musical collision is a fruitful one. The yin and yang of their gorgeously earthy voices is full of wide-eyed wonder at the world. Aquí Me Pinté Yo (For Frida Kahlo)is a standout, with traces of Lisa Hannigan's melodic sensibility and a decade more experience to play with. Pastoral chaos with style. www.mamamusic.co.uk SIOBHÁN LONG
Download tracks: Liquid Sunshine, Dancing Girl

CHARLIE PARR
Roustabout Independent★★★★
With Seasick Steve stomping the blues on centrestage, perhaps the world might also wake up and listen to the remarkable Charlie Parr. Parr plays folk and rural-style blues, accompanying himself on National resonator guitars, 12-string guitar and a fretless banjo. That's the bones of it: but Charlie Parr is much more than that. The way his songs mark the comings and goings of his local community is fascinating, while his love affair with country-blues is reflected in his timeless sound. His music can sound like a field recording, and sometimes actually is, as with this new collection, his seventh. It can also sound quite stark and rough. If this all sounds too much like the economy, fear not, Parr is not out to tax your ears. You can catch him supporting Mundy at a venue near you shortly and in a solo show at Dublin's Crawdaddy in February. www.charlieparr.com JOE BREEN 
Download tracks: Far Cry From Fargo, Midnight has Come and Gone, God Moves on the Water