Starting out as an acoustic duo mixing folk with musical theatre, jazz and classical styles, Irish singer Lorraine Reilly and Bristolian pianist Jeremy Millington transformed into the fully fledged five piece that has delivered their new album Counterbalance, thanks to an invite to perform at Glastonbury 2011.

While the duo's first two albums included electronic elements, their last (The Blushing Of A World In White, 2010) stripped their sound back to acoustic roots which, for their Glastonbury appearance was supplementing by double bass, cello and violin. That hastily put together line up quickly transformed into the fully fledged band that recorded Counterbalance.

The result is a melting pot of vibrant orchestral textures and richly layered vocals on what has been dubbed the 'Justice Album' which includes songs about the attempts to silence Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, women's battle not to be judged on their looks, and the oppression in Burma. There's also commentary on the world's obsession with celebrity, how power corrupts even those you thought you knew, the futility of war minds, and much more.

But for all social commentary, Counterbalance is an extraordinarily beautiful album - Lorraine Reilly's vocals have the same ethereal qualities as Máire Brennan, and while the musical style bears some similarities to elements of Clannad, their musical pallet spreads so wider that it's impossible to define.

Music for the mind - both lyrically and musically.

****

Review by Pete Whalley