A little like our own Laura Marling, Alynda Lee Segarra (who is to all intents and purposes Hurray For The Riff Raff) is a supremely talented young songwriter who, with each successive release, seems able to defy expectations and improve yet further on all that she has done before.

Her songs possess that undefinable, and all too rare, ability to powerfully connect and stir the emotions without recourse to formula, stereotype or convention. In large part her new album Small Town Heroes is a record from, and about New Orleans, the city where in her early days as a teenager she learned to play on the streets before returning there to settle more permanently – St. Roch Blues, Crash on the Highway and End of the Line provide a trio of compelling and reverential stories about the Crescent City.

Elsewhere The Body Electric is a brilliant feminist reimagining of the traditional murder ballad, while Blue Ridge Mountain is an Appalachian nod to Maybelle Carter. Over the course of its twelve tracks the record delivers a timeless and exquisitely crafted collection that lingers long in the memory and the heart.

Just as we lose one of America’s founding fathers of folk, it seems entirely appropriate that Hurray For The Riff Raff are releasing Small Town Heroes, rooted as it is in simple traditions and clear truths. Powerful and moving, Alynda Lee Segarra is adding her own unique voice and indelible stamp on to American folk music. We think Mr Seeger would wholeheartedly approve.

It is out on the 11th February via ATO Records. Pre-order here.

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