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She may have one of the most famous surnames in folk but one thing’s for certain: this isn’t, by any stretch, a folk album. The opening track on this second release from the late Lal Waters on’s offspring, ‘I’m in a Mood’ has tremolo guitar and tight drums that are a dead ringer for Morcheeba. ‘Love Song to a Lyric’ has a wistful touch of Paul McCartney’s songsmithery to it. ‘I Won’t Hear’ has a cod reggae backbeat that works much better than it has any right to. ‘Going Going Gone’ could almost be the Beautiful South, sharing their knack of marrying a catchy tune and a deadpan vocal to slightly vaudeville backing. Waterson and brother Oliver Knight pull off the same trick even more successfully on ‘Scarlet Starlet’, a song that recalls Barry Booth’s eccentric 60s middle-of-the-road classic album Diversions.

It’s all very professionally executed, and would be right at home on a Radio 2 playlist. And therein lies the rub. This album would have benefitted from more of the mordant wit Waterson sometimes flashes; it needs more spookiness and gall. ‘Gormandizer’ has some slightly trippy head-voice singing, leaving you wishing they’d have pushed the boat out, turned it into a full-on psychedelic production to match oddball lyrics such as ‘with your faith in the biscuit tin/your burnt offerings won't fool the.’ ‘Russian Dolls’ has some quirky percussive pops and clicks to its arrangement, which is fine as far as it goes. But you wonder what Waterson and Knight might come up with if they invited those ‘Weirdlore’ poster-children Sproatly Smith to produce them next time.