Angelina - Vagabond Saint

The Guardian 80

(Wonderful Sound)

Rural England has never been short of dusty country and blues singers, born in the wrong place and time. But there’s an unusually strong double-take quality to the debut by Isle of Wight-raised Angelina; you might think she came from the Mississippi delta if her passport didn’t say otherwise. Part of what convinces about this record is her love for the mythology of the south: never mind that her lyrics are a little overstuffed with preachers, runaways and graveyard towns, she invests them with romance and drama. But it’s the warmth and personality of her voice that rings particularly true. It’s a wonderfully expressive instrument, lilting and listless on the heartbroken I Don’t Cry, rich and sumptuous on the swooning Rose Cascade.