Trembling Bells: Abandoned Love

Trembling Bells are British new folk mavericks with their roots in the experimental folk scene of the 1960s. No surprise, then, that their followers include producer Joe Boyd, who praised them as "that rarest of beasts, a one-off". Quite right, too, as this freewheeling and delightfully quirky set proves. Driven by the percussion of songwriter Alex Neilson, this is an album that constantly changes direction, from sections that echo robust traditional songs, medieval themes or the recordings of Shirley and Dolly Collins, but then switches to Americana, country blues or guitar rock. Many of the songs are dominated by the clear vocals of Lavinia Blackwall, who moves with confidence from a sturdy duet on the gently epic Adieu, England to the stately ballad September Is the Month of Death or Love Made an Outlaw of My Heart, in which psychedelic folk gives way to a romping country-rock.