Burnley-based singer-songwriter Kath will be known to those Roundabout readers who attended last year's Saltburn Festival, where she swept the board at the Songwriting Competition to win the coveted trophy with her lovely song A Perfect Autumn Day. That song appeared on her previous CD Songs To Be Sung, but her new offering, Kingfisher Blue, maintains a similarly high standard throughout its 47 minutes.

In fact, if pushed I'd say that her songwriting has very probably moved up a gear or so even since the previous CD. Kath still maintains a confident mastery of a wide musical range, from the Nanci Griffith country-folk stylings of the opener Warm Like Mine to the Jim Reeves-inflected Cowboy In My Soul and the hopefully Dylanesque Better Times Ahead, while You Already Knew has the poignancy of Allan Taylor and A Time For Magic might have come from a lost Trader Horne album.

These comparisons aren't meant to suggest that Kath's songs are derivative, just that she clearly takes her inspiration from many sources and moulds them into and around her own personal observations with a combination of innocence and knowing maturity that's quietly compelling. As a writer, Kath's compassion and concern for her fellow human beings mirrors her philosophical approach to life, struggling like many of us to make sense of life's contradictions while taking time to appreciate its beauties and celebrate its good experiences. The simplicity of the (spoken) title track reflects such a moment of repose, an affirmation of life if ever there was one.

As a singer, Kath's strength lies in her expressiveness; just sample the outstandingly soulfully jazzy Babe You're So Cold, which says so much in just 2½ bleak minutes with just a sparse piano accompaniment .  Further backing is provided on some tracks by the CD's producer Rob Van Santé (guitar) and Kath's son Shaun (keyboards), while Tom McConville's fiddle graces a couple of the songs to good effect. But most of the songs would stand on their own due to their strong melodies - another reason to investigate Kath's work further, or even better catch her live (say at Skipton folk club).

David Kidman