Album Review: June Tabor - Ashore

June Tabor - Ashore

My 2011 plan of listening to lots of new albums - irrespective of genre or artist - has taken me to some interesting places. One thing I have discovered this year is plenty of folk music. I suppose it's always been there, but perhaps has slipped underneath my radar over the years.

I know nothing of June Tabor. She's one of the UK's finest folk singers, apparently, and Ashore is her half-zillionth album since the 1970s, or something. Still, I thought I would give it a whirl and I am glad I did as it is terrific.

From the opening notes of the haunting Finisterre I knew this was going to be a bewitching and enchanting record. Most of the album is very minimalist - some sparse piano accompaniment is often all that accompanies Tabor's lovely vocals - but this works brilliantly throughout.

There is a lovely mixture of traditional folk and contemporary recordings here. Traditional songs such as the a cappella The Bleacher Lassie of Kelvinhaugh and the French Le Petit Navire are lovely, whilst her spellbinding version of Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding is the highlight of the record.

I really enjoyed Ashore, actually. Gentle, melodic and beautifully sung, it is a real treat. Highly recommended.