You know those people who follow Renaissance Faires all around the country and use phrases like "Huzzah!" in everyday life? People who know and embrace the meaning of the word "filk?" This album brings you face- to- face with those people. Okay, so it's not that bad. But only because these folks are actually from the United Kingdom, which thereby allows them the right to exercise their real British accents.

Singing the Storm is a collection of songs composed by Savourna Stevenson for the 1995 Borders festival, and although it's endearing that ballads are still being composed for the harp, the disc leaves you feeling like maybe there's something better you could be listening to. Technically, the playing is exceptional, but that gives way to the fact that it's too prominently mixed over the vocals, and one wonders whether the balance is pretentiousness on the part of the musician or just plain old poor engineering. In either case, there's something so deeply personal happening within the music that it feels as if much of the appreciation for the songs will probably be zapped right out from under you unless you happen to know the artists on a personal level.

Thankfully, the liner notes do a nice job of detailing what's behind each of the songs, and to be fair, there are some rather pleasant tracks on the record. For example, Singing The Storm's opener, "The Baker," actually seems almost catchy after a few listens, and the instrumental composition and poetry blend well together as the story of a funeral develops through the analogy of a wedding. However, the brilliance is quickly lost and takes a deep nosedive with the fourth track, "Earth, Wind," which is an attempt at an upbeat, jazzy harp- driven number. It might have been more accurate had they tacked the words "And Fire" onto the end of the song's title.

The album picks up again somewhat with "Water," but after a good, hard listen, you'll find that Singing The Storm just isn't good enough to warrant more than an occasional listen when all your other discs are played out. Huzzah! 10 pounds for the King? I'd wait to see what the jester has to offer.

-Skaht Hansen