REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

THE DEVIL'S INTERVAL
Blood & Honey
Wild Goose WGS335CD

The Devil's Interval are Lauren McCormick, Emily Portman and Jim Causley, three recent graduates from the Newcastle University Folk Thing who sing mostly acapella, mostly traditional songs. They quite rightly attract the highest acclamation, not least from Waterson:Carthy with whom they share Christmas both on stage and in the studio - commendation indeed.

Blood & Honey has the classic thirteen tracks (not too long, not too short.) including carols for Bonfire, May and Midsummer, great revisits to 'Silver Dagger', 'Long Lankin' and 'The Well Below The Valley', and lots of other stuff from the wildly mystical 'Leaves Of Life' to mildly pornographic 'Blow Me Jack'. They are blessed with three distinctive and flexible voices that, by dint of hard work and good advice, they have forged into an extremely original and satisfying harmony group. Good for them! (There's plenty more grey-bearded patronisation where that came from.)

A couple of tracks feature concertina, flute and/or accordion, but it's the vocal textures and the fresh, innovative arrangements that never fail to impress throughout this delicious record. How can they fail? What delectable golden children all! (That's enough, already.)

Alan Rose