Devon born and bred songstress who's become a regular draw on the folk scene and who cites Paul Weller, Carole King and Janis Joplin amongst her major influences. Matches & Dispatches is her debut album.

Predominantly acoustic based, Matches & Dispatches includes 11 original songs and two covers - a stripped back reworking of the Beatles classic I Want To Hold Your Hand, and a new arrangement of the traditional Welsh poem All Through The Night.

Recorded at the Sawmill Studios in Cornwall and featuring guest musicians Rick Foot on double bass, cellist Bethany Porter and pedal steel player Alan Cook, the album flits like a butterfly from folk to the bossa nova, and from rock ‘n' roll to country and western, never settling in one groove for long.

In days of yore, Matches & Dispatches would undoubtedly have been marketed as Music For Pleasure, beautifully played, recorded and produced and with some excellent vocal work. But at present there's a surfeit of female singer songwriters in this field, and while Nicky Swannn certainly holds her own in that company, it's hard to see Matches & Dispatches reaching far beyond post gig merchandising sales. Which is a damn shame.

***½

Review by Pete Whalley