Gift

Shuddering strings and pick scrapes underscore Scarborough folk singer Eliza Carthy and Norma Waterson's latest collection of love songs and laments. While they don't deviate too far from the tried-and-tested formula of the genre, there is a welcome richness in tunes such as 'Poor Wayfaring Stranger' and 'Psalm Of Life'. In many ways it's a miracle Ms Carthy can sing at all on the record, as two years ago she found a cyst on her throat. But judging by the evidence of Gift, she still sounds as bruised and battered as the best of them. Long may she run.