Though this is her solo debut, 25-year-old Co. Derry traditional/folk singer Cara Dillon comes with an impressive pedigree. A former All-Ireland traditional singing champion, in 1995 she replaced Kate Rusby in the UK based folk supergroup Equation, leaving a year later to form a musical partnership with founding member Sam Lakeman. She has since worked with Mike Oldfield, performing on Tubular Bells III and more recently with Sinead O’Connor and Jane Siberry on the Ghostland project.

Here Dillon brings her warm, natural style to standards like ‘Black Is The Colour’, ‘Lark In The Clear Air’ and ‘I Am A Youth That’s Inclined To Ramble’. If the choice of material seems a tad safe and unadventurous, the performances are anything but that.

With sympathetic, understated production (by Lakeman) and sparse backing, mainly piano and acoustic guitar, her voice glides effortlessly across these timeless melodies. At times she sounds not unlike Andrea Corr, especially on ‘She’s Like The Swallow’, one of the few tracks to utilise a full rhythm section. Two originals, ‘Blue Mountain River’ and ‘I Wish I Was’, written and arranged by Dillon demonstrate her own songwriting abilities while, interestingly, man of the moment David Kitt (Dillon’s label-mate) is set to re-mix, ‘Black Is The Colour’. Expect to hear a lot more of Cara Dillon in the near future.