The lines we draw together

"The Lines We Draw Together, Rheingans' first album solo away from her sister Anna, with whom she has bagged BBC Radio 2 Folk awards and sundry nominations, is similarly full of songs inspired by her grandmother's childhood in 1940s Germany. At a distant listen, it is immediate and pretty, as many often-nominated Radio 2 Folk award works are. But as its delicate sound twists apart in woodwind-textured arrangements, its narrative starts to break through. "We always look skyward to see what is coming," begins What Birds Are. "And then without warning the Earth begins moving."From within Rheingans' comforting musical landscape, coddled by her warm-as-broth Derbyshire vocal, the air "becomes thick with the dust of the war". Bright yellow stars move from horizons on to young men's lapels; people stop talking "to quiet the din". Such cautions often feel obvious, but they are strangely powerful in this soft context".

Læs anmeldelse

"Top of the world" - "The Sheffield fiddler, banjoist and songwriter taps into the rich new vein of folk music with theatre, historical memoir, poetry and classical music that Karine Polwart has recently mined with her Wind Resistance shows and album. Indeed, Liam Hurley - cowriter of the script for Rheingans' stage show - also worked on Polwart's show. Rheingans' one-woman theatre piece, Dispatches on the Red Dress, chronicles her grandmother's experiences in 1940s Germany. This solo debut from a musician usually associated with the bands Lady Maisery, The Rheingans Sisters and Songs of Separation is an extension of that live show. It's spacious, elegant stuff".