Lisa Knapp
Album: Hunt The Hare - A Branch Of May EP
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 5
Website: http://www.lisaknapp.co.uk

I was really pleased when "Hunt The Hare - A Branch Of May EP" from the highly imaginative folk doyenne, Lisa Knapp, dropped through my letterbox and then totally shocked to discover that this is her first release her highly praised debut album "Wild & Undaunted", released back in 2007, a releasing schedule that puts her on a par with Kate Bush.

It says so much about that album that it's managed to sustain my interest in her over that period to the extent that this felt like a letter from an old friend, rather than a bolt from the blue from someone that had been away for an extended period and had just re-appeared on the scene.

As implied by the title, "Hunt The Hare - A Bunch Of May EP" is a celebration of that month, rather it's an exploration. As Lisa herself says, 'Over the years my curiosity has become more and more aroused by the many celebratory and historical aspects of the month of May which appear in this part of the world. Traditional May songs in particular have always intrigued me with their common theme of reminding us that time is of the essence.'

Over the course of five songs, three of them penned by Knapp and the other two traditional songs, adopted by her and given a spin very much in her style, she gets into the essential elements of this almost to the point that you think Luna Lovegood has played a part in casting the threads for Knapp to bring back the tangents in a way that feels just as complicated as those weaving the multi-coloured ribbons around the maypole.

Just as May heralds the return of light and summer, "Hunt The Hare - A Branch Of May EP" heralds the more than welcome return on Lisa Knapp and that there packaging includes the phrase chapter one gives hope that this is the start of another fecund period for releases from her.

Neil King