More evidence, if any were needed, of the vitality of the Northern scene, and the distinctive voices emerging from it. This is Emma’s second album as a leader since she graduated from Leeds Conservatoire: she’s also carving a career in pop horn section arranging, for which her very punchy and focussed tone is well suited.

As is often the case in the funded world of contemporary music projects, the music was written as a commission, with a suitably empathetic theme based around the strength of Northern womanhood, and ‘Sister’ has a folky simplicity to its melody that is echoed across the other compositions, such as the intimate, lilting ‘Home’. The complexity can be found in the carefully plotted rhythm arrangement of the title track, which builds to an imposing climax; in the tricky sets of accents around which drummer Steve Hanley weaves exciting improvisations; and in the fluidity with which the band move from individual statements to group improv to written passages to gestural free playing and back again.

The band are terrific, really unified in intent and amply gifted in execution, and they give each performance their all. The mood is generally a kind of sombre uplift, evocative of stirring empty landscapes, wild moorland and sombre seascapes: fans of Wandering Monster or Henry Spencer should check this out for more of the sound of a distinctly British take on contemporary jazz.