Siobhán Longis impressed with a new release in the traditional English style.

KERR, FAGAN AND HARBRON
Station House
Fellside Recordings
****

English folk music is enjoying a healthy resurgence in recent years: Chris Wood, Karen Tweed, Andy Cutting and Kate Rusby have all carved curious and delightfully eccentric niches for themselves.

Anglo-Australian trio Nancy Kerr, James Fagan and Robert Harbron make music that's spacious, endlessly curious and delightfully baroque at times.

English concertina and autoharp set a tone that echoes the aloof detachment of Chris Wood at his best, yet Kerr's liquid vocals bring a warmth and unpredictability that buffs the edges.

Farmhands and Mastersis a timely meditation on the devastating impact of war on a small community, and a trio of Australian dance tunes headlined by Spanish Fandanglereinforce every cross-fertilising musician's pathway from Scotland to Ireland and onwards to the Antipodes with gleeful intent.

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SIOBHÁN LONG