Diving For Pearls is the debut album from Scottish singer/songwriter Allie Fox and it’s as warm and intimate a collection of songs as you are likely to hear this year.

Tracks like ‘Backstreet Girl’ and the lilting ‘Out Of The Blue’ showcase Fox’s sweet voice and cultured guitar picking to good effect, the latter’s gospel-inflected chorus working extremely well.

‘Rise And Shine’ is not as immediately accessible, and yet it allows Fox’s voice to wander among the higher octaves. ‘The Moon Above The Rooftops’ proves the old adage that sometimes there’s nowt so queer as folk (music), and could be a first cousin of The Handsome Family. In fact, it would probably benefit from Brett Spark’s husky baritone as Fox’s sugary tonsils render it a little bit twee.

The epic ‘Birdwoman’ sees Fox laying her soul bare, as the dying embers of a relationship burn out around her. It’s not exactly easy listening and far from daytime radio fare, but it is a compelling and quite beautiful piece of music.

The real star of the show, though, is Fox’s voice, an instrument of rare beauty, with a sense of purity that cuts straight to the heart. I dare anyone to listen to ‘I Was Wrong’ and not feel moved by the bittersweet emotion conveyed in her every note.

Diving For Pearls is a graceful, articulate collection of songs, lovingly crafted and intelligently arranged, which will still sound relevant and poignant in 20 years’ time.