Rachel Sermanni – The Bothy Sessions EP

Rachel Sermanni is still only 19, but the Highlander offers up four songs on this EP which belie her youth. As the name suggests, the pieces were recorded in a bothy, with a handful of folk musicians, and they have a scattered, shifting quality which reflects that environment. Opener Waltz is the highlight, recalling the tentative delicacy of Nina Nastasia’s early work.

At other points, The Bothy Sessions veers into coffee-table territory, particularly on the jazz-inflected Pablo’s City; it can be a fine line between fragility and blandness, and Sermanni’s music often finds itself on the wrong side. Nonetheless, there is a richness to her vocals which suggests the potential to create songs with real emotional weight in future. [Sam Wiseman]