Lullabies

Who else but Jackie Oates could deliver such a fine set of lullabies as this? Over the course of her solo albums and side projects she has been in the possession of one of the most gorgeous and lyrical of singing voices. There is a faraway quality to it, as well as a melancholy and a note of surrender in the sweetness and warmth. The album comes with concise and illuminating liner notes on each song’s origin and why it was chosen for her collection. The set begins with ‘Dream Angus, a Scottish lullaby with its tendrils in the Celtic lore of the Dream God. It features Belinda O’Hooley (one time bandmate with the Unthanks and one-half of the duo O’Hooley & Tidow) on piano and a string ensemble from Iceland, where this album was partly recorded. From Iceland comes ‘Bi Bi Og Blaka’, one of three selections from the country’s tradition, all of them lullingly beautiful. There is also material by AA Milne, Shakespeare, Paul McCartney, two songs concocted by Ruth Tongue in Somerset and a closing beauty by Mike Heron from the Incredible String Band repertoire.

This is a beautiful addition to Jackie Oates’ recorded catalogue. That strange realm between waking and sleeping is our closest link to the truly liminal, and Oates’ Lullabies is the bridge between them. If Count Keyserlingk, who commissioned Bach’s Goldberg Variations to counter his insomnia, were alive today, it would be this music that he would choose.