Hannah James is best known on the British folk scene as a member of Lady Maisery and for her earlier work with Kerfuffle, but she’s also a soloist and an inventive one-woman band. Her live shows mix vocals and accordion with elaborate foot percussion created as she dances on specially designed platforms, while building up layers of sound by using loop pedals. And as this debut solo album proves, the results can be unexpectedly subtle and delicate. The opening First Lullaby is a gently hypnotic affair that starts with a low hum and builds up via overdubbed vocals. Elsewhere, accordion and foot percussion are mixed with her cool, intimate vocals on Woodsman, her reworking of a broadside ballad; and Treasures is a thoughtful song about attitudes to the refugee crisis. A bravely original set – but you need to see James live to fully appreciate her percussive dance skills.
