Marry Waterson & Oliver Knight
Album: Hidden
Label: One Little Indian
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.watersonknight.com

The duo's earlier joint venture, The Days That Shaped Me, was a thoughtfully conceived and not at all tentative affair that did much to set out their personal stall, especially so in terms of artistic identity. Oliver, of course, has long been known and respected as musician, arranger, producer and sound engineer, whereas Marry has revealed herself not only as a commendably honest singer and an intuitive interpreter of her late mother Lal's songs but also as a songwriter of note in her own right. The familial characteristics of Marry's art are perhaps even more noticeable on the eleven new original songs that make up Hidden, while the musical settings, while undoubtedly more confident, sound even more expansive in their own controlled way, although curiously they also seem if anything even more elusive, at least on initial acquaintance. To provide the distinctive and gently aromatic instrumental support, Marry and Olly have enlisted Reuben Taylor (some delicious piano, organ and accordion), and Barney Morse Brown (some heart-rendingly beautiful cello lines), with Pete Flood (drums) and Miranda Sykes (double bass) contributing reliably to most tracks. Olly's guitar work is as outstanding as ever, subtle yet characterful, while making special appearances on individual songs are Eliza Carthy (vocal harmonies on Going Going Gone); Martin Carthy (guitar on Benign); and Coope, Boyes & Simpson (vocals on Russian Dolls).

The album's stated theme is the layers of meaning within its single-word title: "concealment, deception and avoidance"; the characters in her songs all have something to hide, whether it's in the literal sense of emotions or secrets (Professional Confessionals, I'm In A Mood, Sustained Notes) - in some instances even unsuspected positive attributes - or in a more contradictory sense (Starveling). The central concept is mirrored in the cover artwork, where the duo themselves are cleverly all but camouflaged by virtue of their clothing blending in exactly with their backdrop. Similarly, their music doesn't call attention to itself, but almost subliminally works its magic. Providing another metaphor for the songs' layered qualities is the track Russia Dolls, which quirkily depicts those hidden depths that co-exist within despite the boldly, simply expressed façade they present to the viewer. Like Marry's songs in general, there's a distinct tendency to reveal more on each successive (closer) acquaintance - although what has started off hidden does not necessarily get totally revealed by the end of the disc.

This is why, in spite of the accessibility of its sound-world, with its often jaunty flavours of music-hall (Scarlet Starlet), 40s swing (Going Going Gone), companionable ragtime and even a touch of ska (I Won't Hear), Hidden proves an at times obstinate nut to crack. The sharpness of Marry's lyrics, with their telling mix of perceptive poetry and knowing humour, itself sometimes even seems to be in hiding, slightly (yet deliberately) obfuscated by the drifting settings, as on the waltzery atmospherics of I'm In A Mood where a queasy organ and shuffling rhythm seem to constantly undermine the confident electric guitar. And maybe the wilful idiosyncrasies of Russian Dolls' arrangement veer too far in the direction of oddball, tending to irritate once the first-play novelty has worn off.

Paradoxically perhaps, the most straightforward of Marry's latest meditations is Love Song To A Lyric, which explores with painfully disarming honesty the conflicting emotions of self-doubt and confident hope experienced by the practising songwriter. Elsewhere, catchy, witty double-edged wordplay and word-hooks are the order of the day, engaging the brain come what may, either with or without those modestly ear-catching instrumental niceties, by virtue of Marry's commandingly honest and entirely unaffected vocal delivery.

As a footnote, it's a shame that those in overall charge of the album's promotion seem hell-bent on denying reviewers the essential full information package; having initially provided only a skimpy CD-R with a bare list of track titles (OK, albeit with an accompanying short press release), astonishingly, they're still unable to supply me with texts for many of the songs, which surely is taking the "Hidden" concept to an unnecessary extreme.

David Kidman