Much of the best recent British folk music has come from groups of musicians already well known for their solo work and involvement in other projects, and the Furrow Collective fall firmly into this category. Alasdair Roberts, Emily Portman, Lucy Farrell and Rachel Newton got together to re-work traditional songs, and the second Collective album shows they have developed a compelling style and sound of their own. There are no unaccompanied songs this time, and they have added bass and drums, courtesy of the gently inventive Alex Neilson. They start with Roberts’ cheerful, banjo-backed Wild Hog in the Woods, then ease into the kind of songs full of death, magic or gloom in which they specialise. From Portman’s harp and fiddle-backed Barbara Allen to Farrell’s thrilling but gruesome Willie’s Fatal Visit, and the exquisite harmony work on Many’s the Night’s Rest, it’s a fresh, gently powerful set.
