Although ostensibly folk, or more correctly new folk, Kristy Gallacher has more in common with the English rose school of singers like Judie Tzuke with her finely balanced mix of the worldly and the ethereal serving to emphasise her continuing artistic development. “Spinning Plates” is her second studio album and it further polishes her musical presence.
She sings of the same things as many others but her advantage, her unique selling point if you like, is the ease with which she uses much more of the English language than, say, a boy band ever would. You could almost call her poetic. In fact, I will call her poetic and I will also call her endearing. There is an elegance to her words too – “Beautiful Bouquet” and “Clones” stand out for that very reason – that seems to suit her understated vocal style well.
Given how well assembled this album has been, it would have been easy to dismiss it as another bit of inoffensive background music but there is the mark of significance here. Kristy Gallacher is indeed easy on the ear but there is far more depth and warmth than you would reasonably expect of one so young (and, as a bonus, she sounds nothing like Kate Nash).
If you can raise yourself from your indolence then I’d say that Kristy Gallacher’s career would be one that you would well advised to follow.