Former Waking the Witch member Patsy Matheson returns with her new album, her first in nearly four years. Mind you not that she hasn’t been busy touring relentlessly including some very well received gigs with folk legend Clive Gregson. Patsy plays most instruments on here (including the xylophone!) with Jon Short on double bass and former Housemartin Hugh Whitaker on drums.

This is an album for concentration and enjoyment – with a wine/beer (or tea in my case) in hand along with the lyrics sheet. The vocals are simply stunning, from ‘Under Your Wing’ with a heavenly high vocal part midway through to ‘So The Same’, where Patsy joins her herself on harmonies, something her former band Waking the Witch excelled at. Lovely mandolin solo on ‘Water Is Over The Weir’ and again another song you can lose yourself in. The moving ‘Sylvia Jean’ closes the album, a tale of two young lovers whose romance is cut short after the young man dies in a flying accident.

What makes this album special? The smoothly melodious voice draws you into a song; add a little acoustic guitar and what more can you want? We all have our musicians and singers we like to rave about and I would urge lovers of singer/songwriter and folk music to buy this album.

****1/2
Jason Ritchie