The Devon singer and fiddler has made some bold moves over her previous five albums (a Björk cover, for example), but here she mostly cleaves to tradition. Old songs such as Robbers’ Retreat and The Devil and the Farmer’s Wife are reprised with exuberance, while new material like Chris Sarjeant’s title piece – a touching tale of Victorian foundlings – are cut from familiar cloth. Oates’s vocals, bright as a May morn, carry the tales and poems with easy grace, helped by polished accompanists, while a cover of the Sundays’ Can’t Be Sure comes with a lush string arrangement. One of English folk’s class acts.
