Personnel: Kate Walsh (vocals, guitars, Fender Rhodes piano, glockenspiel); Martin Harley (guitars, slide guitar); Tim Bidwell (guitars, harmonica, melodica, piano, bass guitar, percussion, background vocals); Duncan Humphrey (guitars); David Bramwell (violin); Mike Siddell (strings); Sharon Lewis (accordion); Simon Little (Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer organ); Magnus Williams (double bass); Pat West (drums).

English singer-songwriter Kate Walsh specializes in the type of wispy acoustic folk that shoots an arrow straight into the heart of anyone whose heart is open a little already. TIM'S HOUSE, the artist's debut, bears traces of Walsh's influences, which include Joni Mitchell and Tori Amos, yet it is also a highly polished and original effort. Walsh's pure, expressive voice is moving, but it's her confessional, beautifully written songs that give the album its legs. TIM'S HOUSE is soothing, elegant, and offers up no small amount of emotional substance.

Who needs record companies in the Internet age -- certainly not Kate Walsh, whose album Tim's House was named in honor of producer Tim Bidwell, in whose house the album was recorded. She released it on her own MySpace page and persuaded iTunes to sell it, which they did, and it became one of their top-sellers. Picked up by Mercury Records, part of the giant Universal Music corporation, they gave it an official physical release -- and it would appear at this stage that the public lost interest, or all those who were ever going to buy it had already done so, for it limped into the chart at number 75 for one week only. A glance at the song titles and one might be fooled into thinking they were all cover versions -- "Your Song," "Talk of the Town," "Don't Break My Heart," "Tonight" -- but they are not. Every song is an original composition written by Walsh. But what about the music? Well, when a singer/songwriter begins the process, it is generally a song sung with a minimum of accompaniment, either a simple guitar or keyboard, and that's exactly how Walsh left virtually all of the songs: with minimal backing. Usually one guitar is strummed gently, with her voice plaintively singing and putting every ounce of emotion into the lyrics, most of which relate to her childhood experiences in her hometown of Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex. Sometimes she multi-tracks her vocals and harmonizes, but more often there is just one obvious vocal on the track; sometimes a violin joins in the musical accompaniment, but Walsh was obviously more interested in putting the songs across than any arrangements to potentially enhance them -- and it works a treat. Her voice comes over clearly on every track, and one knows precisely what the songs are trying to say. An absolutely beautiful album with emotional songs about ordinary subjects, Tim's House deserved to reach a wider audience. ~ Sharon Mawer

Q (p.106) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Backed by delicately plucked acoustic guitar, her crisp, pure voice mesmerises....Effortlessly pretty, understated music..."