Feather

Edgelarks are Devon-based folk duo Hannah Martin and Phillip Henry, and their fifth studio album finds them once again clinging to the wilder, craggier edges of the British Isles. Fresh from touring and from Henry's recent solo release, True North (a Top of the World in #145), they retired to a Lake District cottage to conjure an album of ethereal promise.

Their composed and accomplished sound is gloriously captured by a live studio recording of the duo, their banjo, lap steel and Dobro, foot percussion and foot-pedalled shruti – and their two voices. Martin has a rich, deep voice that never tires, framed by the keening intricacies of Henry's plucked strings. Henry's musicianship also spans the spectrum from beatbox harmonica to Indian raga structures, reflective of his time with his mentor, the slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya, in Kolkata.

All but one of the tracks are self-penned, with a focus on the natural world, its rhythms and how humans come into contact with them. The music and lyrics have a simplicity that is hypnotic, compelling and very satisfying; no over-complicated ideas, no soapboxing. Try the standout ‘Wanting Nothing’ – a song aptly named in its bare, organic and irresistible rhythm.