What News

This is Roberts’ 12th solo album since 2001, and his fourth of purely traditional songs, following on from the excellent No Earthly Man (2005) and Too Long in This Condition (2010). But instead of the standard guitar and vocals format, Roberts has decided to leave the instrumentation to electronic artist Amble Skuse and keyboardist David McGuinness. Between them, across eight tracks, they create passages of great liminal mystery and power, echoing and remoulding the lyrical contents – ballads of murder and death – to create huge, all-encompassing soundworlds that gives the material a powerful new lease of life.

Roberts is in excellent voice, taking a higher, sweeter register than he is generally known for – there is an astringent quality to his vocals on his earlier albums. On the standout track ‘Clerk Colven’ (a version of ‘The Ballad of George Collins’), he and his collaborators convincingly execute a cautionary tale of what happens when you think you’re entitled to a bit on the side with a mermaid (you die, obvs). Skuse's fascinating use of electronics marks her out as a unique composer-musician, and the keyboard work is minimal and perfectly weighted against Roberts’ vocals. What News just might be the best of Roberts’ trad albums – and that makes it essential listening for fans.