Parallel Latitudes

This album features some folk harp playing so simple and direct you could easily picture it soundtracking a holiday advert for some verdant Celtic location. But every time you think it’s about to sink into predictability or rise into a commercially minded sentimental crescendo, it scampers away from your expectations. Cheyenne Brown harp playing is accompanied by banjo, strings, tabla and more — but these aren’t embellishment: at every turn she is jamming with them, and there’s a real feeling of sheer pleasure in the groove, even as they stray very little from very roots rhythm and melody. It’s a simply lovely listen, but there’s depth in the sense of those connections between the players, too.