Elle Osborne – So Slowly, Slowly She Got Up – Folk Police Recordings – FPR005 - ***

The Mumford And Sons massive aren't folk musicians, but an evolved acoustic pop outfit in a rustic tweed disguise. Perhaps the Lincolnshire lass Elle Osborne isn't really a folk musician either, but an avant-garde experimenter using traditional tunes as vehicles for her ragged, ripe visions.

Nonetheless, the 19th century Yorkshire singer whose Dalesman's Litany is recreated here, with droning fiddle and lap steel loops, and expressively free percussive underlay from Trembling Bells' Alex Neilsen, would still recognise the song. It's taken Osborne ten years to complete her second album. Luckily, her approach appears to be timeless.

(20/9/11)