Kirsty Merryn - She & I (2017)

Folk debuts often arrive gingerly, shyly; Kirsty Merryn’s set of ambitious originals arrives bold and fully-formed. Part-funded by the English Folk Dance and Song Society and produced by Gerry Diver (Lisa Knapp, Sam Lee), She & I is a set of vivid, piano-deepened songs that uncover the stories of real women’s lives. They’re a diverse bunch. Take An Evening at Home in Spiritual Séance, about Victorian spiritualist Georgiana Houghton; here, Merryn’s vocals are sampled and oscillated, like eerie incantations. Then there’s the percussive, medieval thwack of Bring Up the Bodies, inspired by Henrietta Lacks, an African American whose cells were removed, without her knowledge, for medical research. These weirder moments are the album’s best; some others sound too genteel for their meaty subject matter. But Merryn’s voice throughout is strong, warm and unflinching, even on softer moments such as Forfarshire, a duet with Show of Hands’ Steve Knightley. Another adventurous woman emerges.