Northern Gospel Dead Daisy/Outside Music ***

If you've heard Emm Gryner's name before, it may have been via her membership of The Cake Sale collective, or perhaps through the Irish covers album ( Songs of Love and Death) that brought her to prominence here. Gryner has been around for a while – Northern Gospelis the unassuming Canadian's 13th studio album, so at this point experimentation isn't high on the agenda. It's just as well, then, that Gryner is good at what she does. Piano balladry can be dull and predictable, but the richness of Home and Heartsleevesprovides a charming contrast to the jaunty Carpenters-like folk-pop of Surviveand Fast Exit. It may all seem a bit too nice, but there's lyrical aptitude here: the barbed Last Day on Earthdefies you to judge Gryner on her pretty face alone. See emmgryner.com

Download tracks: Survive, Last Day on Earth