Back in 2006 I witnessed Alex Parks perform her last show at The Shepherds Bush Empire, before leaving her record label. Supporting her was singer/songwriter Helen Boulding who had written songs for Parks. That night Parks was incredible and while the spotlight was obviously on her Boulding managed to score a few points of her own. Now there’s an album to listen to and it pretty well confirms my earlier view that here we have a supremely competent singer/songwriter.

On this album Boulding has opted for full-on rock band support which moves several of her songs into more dramatic territory. Opener ‘Way To Go’ opens in quiet folk fashion before opening out into an epic, upbeat Western tinged pop ballad that has ‘single’ plastered all over it. A great song it isn’t, but one that will serve to grab airplay and good album PR. It also showcases Boulding’s expressive vocal qualities. ‘Copenhagen’ drops back in pace and reveals a contemplative side to the lady’s song writing. Add to this nice guitar riffs, a solid bass rhythm, tangible melody and you have a pick of the album’s twelve tracks. ‘Breathe’ is along similar lines, while ‘I Always Look This Blue’ takes an altogether more stripped down route where her voice really comes into its own – the album’s best song. Other highlights include the darker, distinctive, Western tinged ‘Housework’ and ‘More Than Missing You’; beautifully written and performed love song ‘I Can’t Stop Myself From Loving You’; and the glacial, atmospheric, Celt flavoured finale ‘Thus I Swear.’

Vocally, Boulding doesn’t put a foot wrong and for most part her songs seem written from deep inside with strong lyrics. It’s my understanding that several similar sounding albums are about to be released from female UK performers, but I feel Boulding’s will lead them by a comfortable margin.

4/5