Laura is a singer, songwriter and fiddler who excels in all 3 disciplines, but there's an intimacy, creativity and energy about the disc that really separates her from the pack, and the 12 varied tracks fly by without ever dipping from the quality set by the first couple of songs.
She's a technically gifted fiddler but rather than the songs becoming a vehicle to showcase her talents the balance of her vocals and other instrumentation is perfect - there's certainly dynamic fiddling in places but it's never too overpowering.
Everything feels so natural and unforced that the inclusion of the occasional cover fits perfectly amongst her own compositions - these well chosen covers include songs by Josh Ritter ('Bluejays'), Michael Tarbox ('Night Tran to Chelsea') and The Cure ('Just Like Heaven').
Although Boston based it's easy to spot her Celtic influence in the vocals, especially in the phrasing; her rich and powerful vocals suit the slower more considered material on the disc perfectly, but are also commanding enough to carry off the faster, more vigorous songs with ease.
This is an excellent disc - she's an excellent singer and songwriter, the performances are strong throughout and it's an album that's easy to enjoy. One of the best discs in what is turning out to be an memorable year - expect this to be in our 'best of' run down at the end of 2006.

£13.49