Sleepless
Anyone expecting a stylistic leap the second time out for this bright talent will be disappointed withSleepless. The mystery, however, is how anyone could listen to Kate Rusby's stunning debut,Hourglass, and wish that she'd abandon a sound that fits her like a custom-cut bodice. The Yorkshire, England-based classicist is clearly committed to the traditional folk music of her homeland, and she inhabits the music with preternatural confidence. First and foremost, she has a rare knack for making arcane phraseology seem vibrant. Witness the first album's "He took up his sword and he went to fight / Fa la lanky down dilly." Or, from this sophomore effort: "She's hit him on the head / The young man fell like lead / Quite dead / Upon the floor he lay." She dances over the words as if tipsy on some magical potion. Like its predecessor,Sleeplessis marked by warm and supple playing. Among the smart originals and adapted traditionals is one contemporary selection--Iris DeMent's "Our Town." Appropriate, for as DeMent resuscitates old-time American hill music with unselfconscious élan, so does Rusby make the timeworn music of the British Isles come alive.--Steven Stolder