From the opening bars of 'La Grande' it's evident that Laura Gibson is not your average female singer-songwriter. The sound is of a bygone era. A little Ennio Morricone, a little Chris Isaak. You can hear the space and desolation of the Wild West between the vibrato of the clean electric guitar and reverb of the distorted guitar in the distance.

'Milk-Heavy, Pollen-Eyed' is a lullaby blended with a classic 50s / 60s rock and roll song structure but through Laura's distinct vision sounds comparatively modern akin to the acoustic moments of Bright Eyes and Devendra Banhart.

Laura never breaks into a sweat vocal-wise. Her vocals are calm, pretty and sweet - more like the singers of a more innocent and less cynical age like Dinah Shore, Patti Page and Mary Ford.

'Lion Lamb' has a retro Samba feel and is a key example of how Laura manages to plunder the past and bring it back to the future sounding like we're hearing something new for the first time.

The lap steel of 'Skin Warming Skin' take us back to cowboy country again and reveals why Laura is warming herself in front of a campfire on the album's cover. The overall effect, at times, is of a less Celtic Enya.

'The Rushing Dark' would not be out of place on the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers' 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' As a matter of fact Laura's music is cinematic in nature and I wouldn't be surprised to hear it cropping up on an indie film in the future.

There's ne'er a drum kit to be heard on this album. The rhythms are much subtler: percussion, shakers and boxes. The instrumentation utilises a wide palette of sounds: muted horns, flute, clarinet, piano and organ, which accompany the mainstays of picked acoustic guitar and ethereal vocals. During 'The Fire' Laura manages to integrate some double-time snare and bass drum with the more modern tones of distorted bass without losing her homespun identity.

For those that can get past the initial quirky nature of this album you'll find a unique sounding album that you just may find yourself coming back to when you want to escape the generic noise of the modern world. In time maybe Laura will do for the easy listening genre what Neil Hannon has managed to do - make it hip and fresh.

http://www.lauragibsonmusic.com/

If you fancy picking up a copy of 'La Grande' to help soothe your soul - Click Here.