Album: Thea Gilmore, Liejacker (Fullfill)

Thea Gilmore is an old soul. She goes, oooh, all the way back to the Seventies. We shouldn't be surprised that she's looking for old souls too: she sounds like a nice woman of heart, spirit and the desire to sail in Tom Waits's wind.

Not all her writing sings, though, so it's good that her voice does. Where the writing is sometimes conspicuously wrought, her voice seldom is. It's a beautiful, unaffected instrument and when it isn't pushing its envelope, it conveys a subtle wisdom of heart. It's certainly well-served by a set of stripped down small-ensemble arrangements, which fit her like grey gloves. Good record, lovable in parts.

Pick of the Album: 'Old Soul': listen to her heart...