Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman: Personae

Icecream

The award-winning, Dartmoorbased musical and domestic duo of Kathryn Roberts and Seth Lakeman have pulled off a classy piece of work here, mainly featuring their own songs but with a couple of traditional excursions. The album opens with a spirited account of The Knight’s

Ghost, all keen vocal harmonies and buzzy electric guitar from Lakeman, reminiscent of Steeleye Span in their heyday. Roberts gives some beautifully poised performances – with echoes of Kate Bush in the breathy ballad-pop of

Independence, a winsome rendition of Sandy Denny’s Solo and multi-tracking herself to spine-tingling effect in her a cappella rendition of the traditional

Boney’s Retreat. Other Robertslakeman compositions include the jaunty black humour of The Poison

Club, the driven narrative of The Street of the Cats Who Dance, and the

haunting chronicle of Seasons, with Robert’s voice echoing plangently over glittering guitar chimes.