Kate Rusby came from nowhere to to be hailed as folk singer of the year on the strength of her last album Sleepless - so expectations were intimidatingly high for this follow-up. Thankfully the Yorkshire singer doesn't disappoint, mixing her own compositions with Iris Dement and Richard Thompson covers so skilfully that it's impossible to tell which are which. She's at her best, however, with narrative songs, which are perfectly suited to her gently fluting vocals and engaging regional dialect. Backed by a super-group of folk musicians adding whistles and accordion to Rusby's guitar-work, Little Lights is a really beautiful record - on this evidence, British traditional music is in safe hands.
