Lisa Redford - Another Place and Time EP
8/10
It was a genuine pleasure and surprise to find Lisa Redford performing at Open earlier this year, providing support in the vast Banking Hall for Eliza Carthy and her band. Accompanied that night by the wonderful and versatile Noel Dashwood on dobro, I was reminded what a powerfully emotive voice she possesses. Her original two albums, Slipstream and Lost Again, remain on my iPod to this day.
Some of the songs performed that night are now available on this four-track EP. Recorded with José McGill from The Vagaband, this realises what Lisa does best – heartfelt English country infused with the unmistakable air of Americana gained via her sojourns in New York.
Her voice has matured, and the production is far richer than on those early albums. Dashwood's dobro playing on Music and the Mountains and Another Place and Time is divine, a million miles from his alter-ego performances in sunshine duo Dumbfoundus. McGill's double bass and percussion fleshes out Remember Me delightfully, the catchiest track by far. Worst Kind of Love is an old fashioned country ballad driving this EP to a moving conclusion. Far too good for digital, this collection cries out for a vinyl release.
8/10
