‘Here We Go 1, 2, 3’ by Heidi Talbot (Album)

Heidi Talbot: looking back through her past, in order to face the future. Photo: Elly Lucas

The Irish songstress has relocated to Scotland and now returns with a collection of songs which balance folk and pop

The fifth solo album from Irish singer Heidi Talbot contains her most significant writing contributions to date, with credits on eight of the ten tracks. Now based in Scotland, Here We Go 1,2,3 was recorded over 10 days in the home studio she shares with husband John McCusker. The record’s gestation was a far longer process, dreamed up over two years, and perhaps that is why it has a such a contemplative feel to it.

Talbot’s music can probably be best described as folk-pop with a lightness of touch very much evident. The traditional feeling of the title track, accompanied by a harmonium and fiddle is continued on Time To Rest – a jig written by Adam Holmes. From there the lines blur a little; The Year That I Was Born is a mild ballad and A Song For Rose (Will You Remember Me) is stripped-back to reveal a daughter coming to terms with her mother’s fading health.

There’s a sense that Talbot is looking back through her past, in order to face the future, and Chelsea Piers finds her reminiscing about her time in New York over a jazz-inflected late night shuffle. The album’s sombre pacing may be too much for some, but there can be no complaints about the purity of Talbot’s voice or the strength of her vision.

Verdict: Poignant and affecting balladry

Duncan Haskell

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