Bill Jones has, since this album was recorded and released, given birth to a bouncy baby just before Christmas. So says her website. Good news for her and her husband, but not too good for the rest of us because it means that she is cutting back on her live work (check out her excellent website for details). So Two Year Winter could be your only chance to hear this one time BBC Folk Award Newcomer of the Year, although I think she is touring villages with Sarah Matthews of Cross O'th Hands.

For this - her third studio album- she mixes traditional and contemporary songs, showing her ability to vary styles whilst still keeping the overall feel of the album. There's intimate piano playing on The Two Bothers, the jazzy feel of The Lover's Ghost and the humour of Diddling Set just to mention a few. Ever since a visit to Northumberland I have been fascinated by Grace Darling and her heroics so it is good to hear a new song written by Bill. What comes out is the maturity of her song writing and the different slant she puts on the story.

Bill has surrounded herself with extremely talented musicians some of whom you will recognise, none of whom get in the way of Bill's own excellent playing, but all of whom know their way around their instrument- again check website for details.

There is no doubt that she knows exactly what she wants, how she is going to achieve this, and the direction she is moving in. She has produced this herself, recording it at the Bedfords' studio in Yorkshire. It is out on her own label, her family are all involved in some capacity, and she's given birth to a bouncy baby.

Two Year Winter is a good album and well worth having. It shows that English song is in good hands. Enjoy it -because I did.