Album Review: Rebekah Findlay - Improvising Around the Sun (Ted Records)

This excellent follow up to Rebekah Findlay's 2010 debut NORTHERN SKIES once again clearly demonstrates Rebekah's command over song writing with seven original songs and one instrumental, together with a new arrangement of a well-known traditional song and a couple of covers, including a pop song known to millions hidden within a vastly different arrangement. Enriched with atmosphere and melancholy, Rebekah's songs resonate with an ethereal quality, largely due to her instantly recognisable voice, her gentle guitar style and some tastefully executed fiddle work.

From the opening bars of the melancholic Blackbird Song, complete with atmospheric guitar accompaniment, courtesy of Chris Davison, the album unfolds with delicate precision. With instantly accessible melodies, such as on Rhythm of the Sea and Gray's Lament, Rebekah demonstrates a confident approach to song writing and storytelling. Even with the non-original material, Rebekah effectively makes the songs her own with little effort such as her version of You're the One That I Want, yes the Grease hit, albeit gently reworked as a sultry slow ballad, together with Tom Bliss's haunting ballad Violin, prompting the singer to ponder about the mysterious life of her own instrument. With the one traditional song included, Ten Thousand Miles, this second offering from this young North Yorkshire-based singer-songwriter confirms her credentials as a valid and important new voice on the acoustic music scene.