The Canadian singer/songwriter's first full-length collection of original material since 2006's , sees delivering another richly detailed and alluringly cinematic set of worldbeat-infused, modern-folk pieces that hearken back to career-defining albums like , and . It's the latter LP that's echoed the most -- states in the liner notes that a number of the songs were written around the time of -- with the elegant balladry of "Lost Souls" and the moving and -assisted "Breaking of the Sword" invoking that album's emotional high point: Her lush musical rendering of the poem "Lady of Shalott." Once again, looks to poetry for inspiration, with providing the narratives for "The Ballad of the Fox Hunter" and "La Belle Dame Sans Merci," respectively, while she cites the works of authors (The Hidden Life of Trees) and (A Short History of Progress) as the motivation behind the evocative and ecologically minded "Ages Past, Ages Hence." While continues to incorporate Galician and Middle Eastern themes into her work -- opener "Spanish Guitars & Night Plazas" builds to a lovely flamenco crescendo, and "Sun, Moon, & Stars" invokes the sights, sounds, and smells of a Moroccan bazaar -- the bulk of is spent wandering the English countryside. It makes sense, as 's early work was predominantly Celtic in nature, and despite a dizzying area of exotic instrumentation -- nyckelharpa, oud, kanoun, lyra, hurdy gurdy, etc. -- it's clear that the rolling hills and temperate moors of the United Kingdom, as well as the extensive vistas of her Canadian homeland, are where her heart resides. ~ James Christopher Monger