Ex-member of the Avengers, Penelope Houston has steadily been carving out a solo career for herself with albums on Normal and Roundtower which currenly has her as an established 'cult' in a number of European countries.
She has yet to really reach even 'cult' status and part of the reason for that lies in the difficulty in getting her albums over here, but now that Normal have got themselves better distrribution in the UK it can only be a matter of time before Houston picks up some of the acclaim that's due her.
When you can find reviews of her previous albums they all have one thing in common, praise, something that more than holds true of "Karmal Apple".
A vituoso of the under utilised instrument, the autoharp, Houston also more than cuts the mustard as both vocalist and songwriter, tending towards real life situations and social awareness.
There is a rough edge to her highly distinctive and it's something that also seems to follow into the music which has an abrasive edge to it that often belies the song content.
A number of songs on "Karmal Apple" seem to be full of double meaning and can be taken in a number of ways. The at times sparse sound adds to the gaumet of emotions inspired by this album making the album both a joy to listen musically and lyrically, indulge yourself.
