Full Review

Lisa Redford – Slipstream

Whilst we often celebrate the independent singer/songwriter scene, there are few UK artists that compare favourably to their American contemporaries, so my first listen to Lisa’s album proved to be a real surprise, as it’s obvious from the first few songs that she can more than hold her own in the company of the better US singer/songwriters.

‘Slipstream’ is a predominantly acoustic album; her guitar provides most of the song structure, with mandolin, piano, slide guitar, bass and percussion adding colour and depth to tracks. While it may be acoustic, it’s musically interesting, and she’s managed to get the balance just about right as the sound is understated and open sounding, but with lots of instrumental detail.

The most striking aspect of the whole disc is Lisa’s vocals – pure, strong, versatile and instantly appealing; she moves between styles easily, handles dynamics well and her voice is consistently good throughout her range, but most importantly of all it's extremely easy to listen to.

On top of the great vocals and clever arrangements she’s a strong writer, and all 12 tracks here are her own – there’s a good variety in the songs from the up-beat, radio-friendly ‘Carolina Rain’, through to the acoustic simplicity of a picked guitar in ‘Silver River’, and the dreamy arrangement and vocals on ‘Red Eyes’.

There are subtle elements on the album that show Lisa has listened to North American singer/songwriters, but this is no clumsy pastiche of other people’s work, it’s a distinct and individual disc that more than stands up on its own as a strong collection of new material.

This is possibly the best independent UK singer/songwriter disc we’ve heard over the past 5 years – it’s enjoyable from start to finish, and is full of great songs and excellent vocals. Highly recommended.