Albums of 2011: Nerina Pallot - 'Year of the Wolf'

Artist who should be bigger than they are album of 2011: Nerina Pallot - 'Year of the Wolf'

Nerina Pallot is one of those artists you may have heard about, though may not be terribly familiar with. She's a very talented singer songwriter who's been around for over 10 years and 'Year of the Wolf' was her 4th album. Ok, I'm a fan anyway, but this is a great album in its own right. It should be too, considering the production credits came from one Mr. Bernard Butler.

I was lucky enough to see Nerina play live the week before the album came out, and certain tracks stood out immediately. 'Butterfly', 'I think' & 'Turn me on again' were and still are my favourites, along with the emotional 'History Boys' and 'This will be our Year'. Each song has its own story, some are more upbeat than others, but as a whole this album is fit for every mood.

Nerina is such a great musician too, as she either plays guitar or keyboard on this album. The Bernard Butler production gives the overall sound a modern, but old school feel and I can't think of another female singer songwriter who's made such a consistently good album in the last year or so that's been a little too under the radar for so long. As a fan I kind of like it that way. Other female singer songwriters whose stars have shone more brightly have fallen by the wayside while Nerina's still standing and producing great albums. Duffy has been and gone, and who's to say the over-hyped Lana Del Ray will have as long a career as Ms Pallot. I'm not that fussed about Lana, as Nerina has consistently and quietly been making good music for over 10 years, and no doubt she still will for a good time to come.