Hush

'And it's in the hush that we hear the sound between darkness and first bird'.

Jane Siberry has always been someone who's cocked her ear to the silence every bit as much as to the sound. Her feet dance to the beat of a drum that's all her own, her voice finding crevices to which only she is privy. If music can be delicate, hers is gossamer, flyaway even.

Hush is Siberry at the peak of her form. After a number of concept albums (Child, Tree) she's slipped back into the hammock of her childhood with a collection of covers of old favourites. And this is no mix 'em gather 'em collection either. This is thoughtful, heart music that reeks of old innocence, of magical tales of the past.

Opening with the incantations of 'Jacob's Ladder', Siberry sets an almost ethereal tone that breathes life through the nine songs collected here. Layered harmonies are the order of the day, and she coaxes and cajoles them in all the right places. She rids 'All Through The Night' of its puritanical roots, imbuing it instead with a gorgeous, brittle harmony.

Arrangements are suitably spartan throughout, with Siberry's piano, accordion, harmonica, keyboards and harp employed to provide the lightest of scaffolding for the vocals.

The range of material within Siberry's grasp is as disparate as it is eclectic, including, 'The Streets Of Laredo', 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot' and 'Ol' Man River'. 'The Water Is Wide' is most definitely a standout though, Jennifer Weeks' oboe etching gorgeous shapes around Siberry's vaporous vocals.

Hush has a coherence, a logic that sets it apart from its recent predecessors. It's a pristine collection that'll either buoy you back towards forgotten memories, or simply lull you calmly into the new year. Either way, it's worthy of repeated visitations on your CD player.

Hush is only available through Jane Siberry's website: www.sheeba.ca