Lady Maisery
Album: Mayday
Label: Root Beat
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.ladymaisery.com

To quote the inside cover Mayday is a distress signal, International Worker's Day, a celebration of Springtime. It's also a celebration of feminine power as well as, in the guise of Beltane, an important day in folklore and this second album from Lady Maisery calls on all aspects, often combining several of those themes within the same songs.

The absolute strength of the album is contained within the three part harmonies of Hazel Askew, Hannah James and Rowan Rheighans, exquisitely arranged and delivered with a clarity that would put the finest crystal wine glass to shame even one enhanced on the column by a twist made up of the girls instrumental prowess, providing gentle adornment to those fantastic harmonies.

This is an album of people, politics and feminine power, not just in the voices, but also within the carefully chosen songs, songs both old and new, with songs like Leon Rosselson's "Palaces Of Gold" and Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work" sitting side by side with traditional songs such as "Lady Maisry" and "The Lady And The Blacksmith", the latter being yet another version of "Two Magicians" with a slightly different outcome to most versions.

As with all decent folk albums, there is a mix of love, lust, life and death, but there is also a rich vein of social politics and personal freedoms, which though some have a feminist angle touch that universal right of choice and the freedom to make decisions right or wrong. What I find particularly great is the way the album delicately layers that on class and power as well as gender.

As you can tell this is an album I'm playing loud and playing often. To hear such vocal mastery combined with such a rich heritage on an album that shows great songs are great songs regardless of when they were written. In all honesty if you don't grab yourself a copy, you're probably only selling out your own pleasure.

Neil King