Album: Beth Orton, Sugaring Season (Anti-)

Beth Orton's first album for six years is an elegant affair, whose ruminations are given pleasing lustre by Tucker Martine, the production polisher of folk-rockers The Decemberists.

It may be her best work. The jazzy drums and string lines lend a Pentangle-ish air to the lovely "Last Leaves of Autumn" and "Magpie", while the waltz of piano and viola gives a Weimar cabaret feel to "See Through Blue". Orton's magnolia-toned vocals have rarely been applied to more satisfying material, particularly "Something More Beautiful.

Download: Magpie; Something More Beautiful; Last Leaves of Autumn