Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker
Album: Midwinter
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 12
Website: http://josienneclarke.co.uk

2013 has been a stellar year for Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker, they seem to have finally made the breakthrough that they've been threatening for the last couple of years. Not only a critically acclaimed album, "Fire And Fortune" there have also been the live and festival appearances to further enhance that reputation. Not only that there have also been the two, well deserved, folk award nominations. Against such a background, "Midwinter" shouldn't be considered the icing on the cake, rather an additional tier to sit on an already impressive cake, wedding the duo to the season.

"Midwinter" is unashamedly an album of carols recorded in a folk style, arguably more akin to when they were written than some of the more contemporary interpretations. This is an album of sweet simplicity, quite often just voice and guitar, with occasional recorder flourishes. It is also an album for December. A celebration of new life and one life in particular, that is integral to the season and out of place, out of time elsewhere, regardless of how good it sounds.. Regardless of your personal beliefs it's difficult to deny the importance of Christmas in the western calendar and this album is a reflection of that.

Fans of the duo will know of their tendency, heck adoration of the melancholy, so the positive and, at times, light interpretations of the carols displayed here will come as a surprise to some fans, but above all else it does show Josienne to be one of the truly great new sounds on the English folk scene because her voice sounds as born to sing these songs as it was born to sing of murder and broken hearts.

I've tended to avoid carol albums as over produced and clawing, this shows that there is still plenty of life in the genre. An album that feels more inspired by the shepherds rather than the kings and absolutely beautiful in that experience.

As an added incentive 50% of the profits are going to UNICEF

Neil King