Barbara Helen - An Unfamiliar Place

This 11 track CD is to be launched at a special concert at Doctor Browns in Middlesbrough on Tuesday 20th January where Saltburn’s Barbara Helen will be supported by Brother Crow, an acoustic duo from Weardale, Martin Nesbitt and Blind Summat, an acoustic folk band from North Yorkshire. Bob Fischer will offer a preview on BBC Tees ‘Gobstopper’ where Barbara plays a session on Wednesday 14th January.

Echoes of Joni Mitchell with nods to such as Don McLean - new acoustic to traditional folk to appalachian groove, Barbara’s work has a refreshingly cool maturity often missing on the regional scene.

No sleeve to garner info from with our pre-release copy - all we can say is that all musicians involved, especially Barbara herself, know just what they’re doing - guitar, slide guitar, mandolin, piano, squeezebox, bass, percussion .... Sparse instrumentation and ever changing arrangements track by track.

Streams up at www.myspace.com/barbarahelen where you can buy the CD through internet sales or as MP3 downloads. Recorded expertly at Mirage Studios, Marske.

You can check Barbara out on her MySpace.

Reviewed by Pete Bell for The Link Magazine January Edition   

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