Daughter of the Water is yet another artist represented by the increasingly rich and diverse pantheon that is Bad Dog Promotions.

This is a project of Sarah Lambert-Gates, an archaeologist and musical time-traveller, and new work, Cast Through the Mistletoe Tree is recorded with Bones Huse (frontman of doom rock band Morass of Molasses).

The mistletoe tree is a stately Poplar in her home field, heavy with distinctive balls of mistletoe. The tree is also at the heart of fellow boater Nick Hayes' (illustrator of the album cover and author of The Book of Trespass) forthcoming book, in which he calls it The Medicine Tree.

Six tracks of quality modern progressive folk music. Let’s take a look.

We start off with Ghost Bird. Whilst doing my usual preparation for this review, I did read some fascinating stories of ghost birds around the world in multiple mythologies. Birdsong beseeches on this, the unique nature of this wonderful ethereal voice pouring over you, and you do, indeed, allow yourself to float down the river, the sound of nature accompanied by an insistent acoustic guitar. It is embedded below.

Dusty Horse, those working animals who spend most of their lives outside, toiling, but on this track, the beast has ended his days of hard labour and travelled to that place where the grass is sweet and fresh forever, a place of freedom. Some would describe this as dark folk, but I am not convinced by that in relation to this song at all. To these ears, the loving care taken with the lyrics, the emotion embedded within Lambert-Gates’s voice talking of a beautiful place awaiting a loyal beast is joyful pastoral folk music, the guitar an instrument to guide it and her to that place. Incidentally, I played this on my radio show of 16th August.

Melancholy Midnight is darker, those moments in the dead of night when you simply cannot relax and sleep, listening to the sound of your sweetheart perhaps snoring, but no comfort within that, and when they finally help you to get to sleep, the dreams are not restful, with ivy fingers dragging you down. The guitar here is more insistent, the voice of the beseeching partner strong, urging sleep, and then the intensity in the voice of the nightmare. This is embedded below.

Ebbe and Flow follows, the ebb and flow of not only tides, but also life relationships, using memories to allow your self and love to grow, but then on the second half, gifts of hemlock and bitter tears. This is a short, reflective piece of music, the voice perfectly reflecting the contrasting life scenarios.

Cuckoo, a brood parasite, this is a song of Beltane, that harbinger of summer, the May Day Festival of Gaelic tradition, the wren singing the songs of impending warmth, traditional folk music at its best, with the sounds of the wood all around.

We close with the longest track, Rain bells, and this is a mere 5:27. Standing and swimming in the rain, with the chimes of the bells, I believe this is a love story, that of the participant falling for the fisherman, he eventually swallowing her whole. It opens with the sound of the heavy rain pouring down, bells ringing, some towering harmonies on a more detailed and complex track compared to the rest of the album, and I think the highlight of the work, especially with the guitar work by Bones Huse.

This short album is highly recommended for those of you who enjoy traditional folk music and exploring unique voices. You can get it by popping along to https://daughterofthewater.bandcamp.com/album/cast-through-the-mistletoe-tree