Songs Lost & Stolen – R2 review
Heretical though such a confession may be, I found 2009′s In The Shadow of Mountains a bit of a dissapointment, with some unsympathetic arrangements and rather too much going on musically in places. I’m happy to report, then, that Bella Hardy’s third album – her first of all self penned material – places her focus firmly where it should be, on Hardy’s captivating voice. The promise signalled by ‘Three Black Feathers’ from her debut here reaches full flower, with the new murder ballad ‘Bridge of Dean’ and the altogether feistier heroine of ‘The Herring Girl’ convincingly drawing on traditional motifs for songs that will undoubtably be finding their way to a session near you shortly.
Longtime collaborators Corrina Hewat (outstanding on ‘Flowers of May’) and Chris Sherburn are joined by the likes of Kris Drever, Patsy Reid and Anna Massie on an album that draws from the light and darkness of life with absolute conviction, whether gently skewering schoolgirl pretension or reframing Beauty and the Beast. With a voice that can by turns soar, seduce, sigh and sparkle, Hardy’s performances can’t be faulted, and the strength of the material makes the album a pleasure from first note to last.
