Henry Martin

Some voices just hit you right in the guts. One of those is that of Hannah Martin – the Devon singer and fiddler who is one half of the duo Edgelarks with lap steel guitarist and general instrumental whizz, Phillip Henry. This is their sixth studio album, their first of entirely traditional material, and a beautiful rendering of the power of folk music. It takes as its title-track a folk ballad collected in their native Dartmoor, which rather neatly incorporates the duo's surnames.

Martin not only has one of the most arresting voices of her generation, but she also produces a fiddle sound with the same resonant bass notes and hypnotic drone as her voice. In combination with Henry's blues-infused slide guitar and harmonica, it gives even the most pure traditional set the flavour of the late 60s folk-rock revival. But there is nothing time-warped about Edgelarks. The experimental beatbox harmonica and loop effects subtly echo modern dance music, bringing ancient ballads into contact with our lives today. It means the mesmerising melody of ‘Queen Amongst the Heather’ grows as you listen. Elsewhere, earthy, energised classics like ‘Greenwood Laddie’ and ‘The Deluded Lover’ slide along like quicksilver. A finely-paced, elegant and timeless response to the lives we live now.