'Sarah Jane Morris couldn’t sing an insincere note if she tried. What’s especially galvanic about her singing is the passionate commitment to the song’s narrative, whether it concerns the pro-democracy struggle against Burma’s military junta (‘A World To Win’), the freeing of a wrongly incarcerated Death Row prisoner (‘Never Forget How To Dance’), or a snapshot of an evening fondly remembered (‘Under The Stars’).

Where It Hurts was written against the backdrop of Morris’ divorce from her husband of 22 years, former Pogues member David Coulter, and several songs (‘Betrayal’, ‘I Learned To Love You’) relate directly to the break-up. Most moving of all is ‘Illumination’ (‘Only a shadow of the good remains / All that’s left is this lingering pain’) – never has the hurt of separation been couched in such painfully beautiful music.

Compared to the restricted textural palette of Migratory Birds, the singer’s previous release on Fallen Angel, the new album is an aural feast. Tom Waits’ brass arranger Ralph Carney provides parts for the punchy ‘Good Night God Bless’, while Enrico Melozzi contributes tasteful string arrangements to several tracks.'