This is the first album from a young woman I happened to first hear in a support slot at a gig, and then this year at the Cambridge Folk Festival, and I have been captivated by her beguiling songs and engaging presence on stage. I've been waiting for the release of this album and I have to say I am delighted by it. Thoughtful songs, strong melodies, spare but entirely apt arrangements meld into a very satisfying listening experience. I could do the usual comparisons - Amy Macdonald, Tanika Tickeram, Karine Polwart for example (and even Robin Williamson and Donovan) - but Rachel is wholly original, and I reckon will have others compared to her in the future, such is the level of talent in one so young. I believe she's a Highland Lass. Not that you can tell from the music, which reaches far beyond any Celtic sensibilities, and, as her surname suggests, gathers in more diverse worldly influences. Ably accompanied here by her regular musical frien...