Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman
Album: Hidden People
Label: Navigator
Tracks: 10
Website: http://www.kathrynrobertsandseanlakeman.com/

Once upon a time, two young women from Barnsley who were singers met up with three brothers from the West Country who were musicians. They formed a band and travelled the world. They called the band The Equation. The Equation was KR2 =SL3. KR2 was Kate Rusby and Kathryn Roberts. SL3 was Sean, Seth and Sam Lakeman. Kate left and became a folk superstar and was replaced by Cara Dillon. When the band broke up, Seth, like Kate, became a hugely successful solo artist and Cara and Sam went off to make music together, again with much success. So what happened to Kathryn and Sean?

Well, they formed a duo and recorded two albums, 1 [2003] and 2 [2004]. However, their career as a duo was temporarily put on hold when they became the proud parents of twin girls, Poppy and Lily, who were born in 2007. Kathryn, stayed at home to look after the twins at their home on Dartmoor.

In the meantime, Sean had established himself as an in-demand producer, having produced the first four albums for brother Seth, including the gold album "Freedom Fields" and Mercury Prize nominated "Kitty Jay". He has also produced albums for The Levellers, Show of Hands and Rev Hammer amongst others. He has also toured with Seth, playing guitar in his band.

Kathryn and Sean returned to touring as a duo in 2011 and have recorded their third album "Hidden People". It is a cracking album and hopefully it will give them the breakthrough that they deserve and bring them the same sort of success that their former bandmates have enjoyed.

This album demonstrates the duo's considerable abilities as songwriters, as eight of the songs are self-penned, with one traditional song and one cover.As one would expect, with Sean's track record, it is expertly produced and features a number of guest appearances, including Seth, Cara, Mark Chadwick [The Levellers], Dave Burland and Jim Moray. Also, their talent as musicians is self-evident as Sean plays guitar, mandolin, bass [including "wooden ruler bass"] and bouzouki. Kathryn contributes piano, keyboards, flute and woodwind. However, the most impressive aspect of this album is Kathryn's stunning voice. That she is such a fine singer should not be great surprise, after all she did win the first ever BBC Young Folk award as a solo singer.

Her superb singing is clearly evident right from the first track, "Huldra", which features her haunting multi-tracked vocals. Wonderful stuff.

"Money or Jewels" is a lovely track and shows that Kathryn is every bit as good a singer as her former bandmates. As is customary in folk music, the song does not have a happy ending.

"Hang the Rowan" is a upbeat song with a thumping beat and more wonderful vocals from Kathryn. "The Ballad of Andy Jacobs" is a very poignant song about a miner who goes on strike and the effect that this has on his family. It has a simple but effective piano accompaniment from Kathryn.

"The White Hind" is a supernatural tale, played in classic folk rock style with guest vocals from Jim Moray. "Standing at my Window " is an excellent track with some great acoustic guitar from Sean. Again, it is a supernatural tale along similar lines to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia ".

The album closes with "Jackie's Song ", a simple acoustic ballad which somehow reminds me of the work of another great folk duo, Richard and Linda Thompson.

In summary, this is a superb album, beautifully sung, played and produced. Let's hope that it brings Kathryn and Sean the success that their talent obviously merits.

Peter Cowley