-the singer

guardian a gorgeously soulful singer

time out a must see must hear singer

-the album

bob harries the album's a delight a fantastic album

Q four stars (/5)
why scour the globe for wonderful voices when there are singers such as julie murphy on the doorstep? without the songs, though, a remarkable voice would only be half the battle. sparsely arranged yet highly atmospheric, lilac tree is the golden-throated julie murphy's giant leap forward, a beautifully flowing acoustic collection that draws much of its character from tim harries doing his danny thompson thing on bass.

as with kathryn williams, the memory of nick drake looms large. and just like williams's little black numbers, this is an album that, from the sensual pull of the opening kiss like that onwards has an appeal well beyond the folk constituency. peter kane

mojo essential folk album
by now we really shouldn't be surprised by anything that julie murphy delivers. in the past she has given us traditional material, welsh language songs, and made bold excursions into world music... and now there is a first album of of her own original material. and what is more, given her track record, we really shouldn't be surprised, either, that it's so very good. murphy seems to have the midas touch and while these songs - most co-written with fernhill guitarist and singer richard llewellyn - are a slow burn, they gnaw away at you with an insistent guile. her songwriting was apparently sparked by the death of her father and the album recorded in a four day frenzy at the dreamworld studios in pembrokeshire. the result is a low key album of understated passion and minimalist jazzy arrangements (an extraordinary fighting for strangers). and while the purer material sounds worryingly like mid sixties joan baez, murphy is a class act who invests her songs with such an instictively subtle gravitas you are drawn in before you know it. deeply impressive. colin irwin

bbc radio 2 website some albums catch an artist or group right in their prime, others are full of great songs, while others capture a mood perfectly. julie murphy's second solo offering does a little of everything as it leads the listener through a range of emotions, but saves its knockout punch for a final track of rare intensity.

of the ten songs on lilac tree nine are originals, penned by julie and guitarist richard llewellyn; the other is a root and branch re-structuring of the traditional song fighting for strangers. they are a decent collection, alternating between the bustling confidence of the excellent train and the jazzy opener kiss like that to more introspective guitar/voice combinations like leave him and my church. there are polished performances from double bass player tim harries and drummer rowan griffiths, who set a mood and move smoothly through the gears but never dominate, while fernhill trumpet player tomos williams provides a pleasant muted contrast to julie's singing.

recorded and mixed in four days, lilac tree is like an intimate live performance preserved on CD; the songs have an uncluttered, simple feel, and the act of stripping back the music and allowing julie's voice to dictate the mood has increased the emotional impact enormously. her singing is simply too good to hide in the mix.

it's a good album throughout, sung mostly in english rather than julie's usual welsh, and certainly deserving of a wider audience. her potential has long been recognised in traditional circles and, while lilac tree sees her moving away from that genre, her writing has matured and broadened enormously.

the album closes with two superb tracks. night visit pairs julie with a simple acoustic guitar and demonstrates that she doesn't need much in the way of backing to carry a track, while on cilgerran (glory of love) you will discover why julie is eliza carthy's favourite vocalist. this is an extraordinary, beautiful song, a cocktail of restraint and simplicity, of sparse guitar lines and understated backing vocals combining to create a hugely emotional finale. surely destined as the closing track for some future tear-laden film epic, cilgerran demonstrates the blossoming of julie murphy's talent both as a writer and singer. what a mouthwatering prospect her next album is.

froots ever the restless explorer, julie murphy taks further time out from fernhill to express another edge to her rich talents. as a singer she always seems to find hidden depths, whether on a welsh language folk song or one of her adventurous dives into cross cultural exchange. now she's turning that thoughtful, embracing style to a selection of original songs written with richard llewellyn that creep up on you with stealth.

often imbued with the late night atmospherics of a small jazz band, many of the songs quickly aquire the rare familiarity you feel with old friends and there's a classic timelessness about much of this album. the traditional structure of 'my father was' swept along by llewellyn's fluid electic guitar , for example, could be from liege and lief, while the title track has the deceptive simplicity of an old american folk-blues standard and, as minimalist as it is here, you could well imagine 'my church' with a full-blooded gospel arrangement.

it's the ability to get inside the cloak of different genres without sacrificing an iota of individuality that makes this such an unusually formidable collection of songs. 'train (going west)' has all the feel of 'orange blossom special' and the emotional charge of a protest song with its edges sharpened, while 'fighting for strangers' is another jazz inflected variation on the theme of an old folk song about the emotional divisions of war. the innate melancholia of murphy's voice and an accomplished, intimate little band (llewellyn on guitars, tim harries on double bass and piano, rowan griffiths on drums and tomos williams on trumpet) combine to produce a specific sound that sustains what may otherwise appear to be an exceptionally austere album.

downbeat as it is, it's a hugely committed and passionate record, without appearing to be. many of the songs deserve a life of their own beyond the confines of this cd and while vocal comparisons may always be attempted for murphy (from june tabor to joan baez) she really is painting her own canvas with increasing conviction. it's not always straightforward - she doesn't do easy - but often the biggest challenges are the most satisfying. colin irwin

sunday times (culture) pop: new releases: julie murphy: lilac tree
born in essex, julie murphy moved to wales after art school and clearly found a welcome on the hillside. lilac tree she reveals her personal concerns and deploys her finely honed folk voice in a less restricting context. this collection of soulful, spacey folk-rock might nestle comfortably alongside tim buckley or van morrison's astral weeks, were it not for the fine mist of musicianly decorum that enshrouds it. it would have been nice to hear murphy's four undeniably competent accomplices cut loose. the dying embers of the opening track, kiss like that, contain a burst of weird, out-of-kilter guitar-playing that might presage a more adventurous third album. two stars (/3)

get rhythm rising star of traditional music, welsh songstress julie murphy is a fabulous vocalist in the class of kate rusby and cara dillon. however, lilac tree marks a departure for murphy from the tradition (apart from a fine version of fighting for strangers included here) to contemporary songs written by herself together with guitarist richard llewellyn. recorded live over a four day period, lilac tree is a moving and inventive acoustic work that warps murphy's folk leanings through the arcs of jazz and soul to form a distinctive and compelling work. the moody, cool jazz textures of the opening kiss like that signals murphy's stylistic departure and establishes the album's contemplative nature. the death of her father had moved julie to write many of the songs here and the album is dedicated to his memory. a strong but tender work, lilac tree is a bold gesture that instinctively blurs the musical barriers to create an affecting and accessible work. ch

hmv choice describing herself as 'an outsider who has become an insider', julie murphy is an english singer and songwriter who, oddly enough, has been at the forefront of the ongoing revival in traditional and popular music in wales since the mid 1990s. She's probably best known as the voice of folk group fernhill and for her recent album ffawd as a duo with dylan fowler. on both these projects she normally sings in her adopted language of welsh. but you're more likely to have heard a recent cameo appearance with robert plant on the afro celt sound system's life begin again. as on that song, murphy sings entirely in english throughout lilac tree, and her pop sensibilities are well to the fore, making this a much more widely accessible album than previous work. these ten songs are sparsely arranged for guitar, grainy muted trumpet, softly tinkling piano, gently brushed drums and acoustic double bass. fans of joni mitchell, van morrison's astral weeks, fairport convention, alt.country, and low-key live sounding production will appreciate.