It’s been eight years since Gillian Welch graced us with an album, in most instances people forget about an artist after such a long period of inactivity, Gillian Welch’s stock however, remains high.

The Harrow & The Harvest arrives facing very lofty expectations. It succeeds in meeting them in the most relaxed and confident way possible – by simply restating Welch and partner Rawlings' core musical values with everything extraneous rigorously removed.

This is one of the most defiantly traditional, non-radical and deceptively simple albums in recent memory. It is far closer in spirit to Welch's breakthrough Time (The Revelator) than its immediate predecessor, the comparably expansive Soul Journey.

It appears Gillian Welch can do no wrong, the best things are worth waiting for, sometimes even 8 years, hopefully we won't have to wait quite so long for the next album, absolutely essential.