Ellen Mary McGee

"Ellen Mary McGee has taken a turn for the macabre with her solo debut, a mixture of traditional ballads and self-penned material. Sparsely accompanied by acoustic guitar and banjo, she sings of the disappearance of 19th century Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin (Lord Franklin), child murdering gypsies (the fatal flower garden) and a lonely suicide (The Wintering). The body count is worthy of a Scwarzenegger film, but it’s compellingly executed, and makes a suitably dark companion piece to Nick Cave’s Murder Ballads.