Clara Hill's Folkways - Sideways

This is the sort of album to put on when you're going through a relationship breakdown. It'll tell you it knows exactly how you're feeling, and give you a friendly pat on the back to get you through. Some light electronica fills out the background, making some tracks sound a little crunchy. This ensures that, while tracks like Be Like That and Don't Go express hurt, this is not a negative album; it shows the ray of hope which always hangs in the doorway. Hill's delicate, soulful voice holds up well throughout, always feeling, never emoting. The personal nature of the songs perhaps dictated that this would be a guitar-based album, but the vigour and joy behind the playing, along with the aforementioned electronica (think of Beth Gibbons' collaborations with The Chemical Brothers, in particular, sweeping epics like Alive: Alone) ensures this is a satisfying record. [Jonathan Robert Muirhead]