Full Review

Cara Dillon – After the Morning

Cara’s two previous discs were excellent contemporary folk albums that focused on folk songs and her beautiful vocals, there were occasional hints at a more upbeat sound in places, but in general they were quite simple acoustic affairs.

‘After the Morning’ opens with two songs that mark a subtle but significant departure as they’re fuller sounding with an accessible pop edge to the melodies and production. While the rest of the disc has a more obvious acoustic folk sound there are elements of this contemporary spin throughout, making this one of the most welcoming folk albums in recent memory.

Once again, Cara’s stunning vocals take centre stage, her voice is smooth, rich and effortless – at times on this album she sounds reminiscent of Kate Bush, and this is a comparison that seems appropriate as much of the piano based material would not be out of place on a Kate Bush album.

Her husband Sam Lakeman provides much of the backing for the songs with some excellent piano and accordion with other instrumentation including mandolin, acoustic guitar and fiddle, other musicians on the album include Martin Simpson and Paul Brady.

Highlights include the two ‘poppier’ openers, but the strength really comes from the more acoustic songs, including ‘Here’s a Health’, ‘The Snows they Melt the Soonest’ and ‘Bold Jamie’.

This is a beautiful contemporary folk album full of excellent song and performances – highly recommended.