Red Bird Sky
Album: The Unravelling
Label: Saira
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.redbirdsky.com

Red Bird Sky, the collective name for male/female songwriting duo Mike Seal and Bernie Maguire, released their debut album Every Lesson In Its Turn not all that long ago - it was reviewed very favourably on this site only last year. Its follow up The Unravelling is another engaging collection of jointly-penned songs, brilliantly produced by Nigel Stonier (there's a man with a good ear!), who adds his multi-instrumental talents to the mix in the good company of a fine crew of backing musicians that includes Rod Clements on dobro, mandolin and baritone guitar.

The backdrops are full and rich, often majoring on string tones (violin and cello) with much versatility on display in the several guitar and related instrumental parts. Sounds good then, and the songs are of durable quality whether in upbeat feelgood mode or intimate personal reflections, couched in an accessible idiom that takes Americana twang, country-pop jangle and folky blues in its stride at the service of the songs - adherence to genre being in the end less important than the message.

You're going to sense a "but" coming, and yes there is: for me, rather more of a sticking point is Bernie's singing voice, which even after a number of plays I'm finding hard to get used to - much as I rate both the songwriting and the musical settings in which the vocals are so lovingly couched. Bernie's voice has character, and it's distinctive; and yet in spite of her clear involvement with the songs her delivery can feel laboured due to its almost constant purring vibrato. This is not always highly intrusive, but even so provides a certain level of distraction that gets to me in some moods more than others - and its mildly quirky nature is unlikely to trouble other listeners to the same extent if at all. Or indeed put them off investigating this consistent, well-written bunch of songs.

David Kidman