Patty GriffinImpossible DreamReview

There's a certain grace about Patty Griffin that sets her apart from fellow coffee-house singer-songwriters like Eliza Gilkyson, Lucy Kaplansky and Catie Curtis. It could be in her delicate, melodic picking, the poetry of her lyrics or her yearning vocal; whatever it is, there were fisticuffs between Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and Daniel Lanois over who would produce her 1996 debut Living With Ghosts (she eventually released the demo version instead). Quickly taken to the heart of the wider country and Americana community, her songs have been taken on by Reba McEntire, Emmylou Harris, Buddy and Julie Miller and the Dixie Chicks, who chose two for their all-killer-no-filler album Home.

Her last album,1000 Kisses shunned the rock sound of 2000's Flaming Red - on which she had built such a firm fanbase - for something altogether more gentle. Produced again by Craig Ross, Impossible Dream continues with the acoustic mood.

Nostalgia is in plentiful supply, from the woman taking one last look around before fleeing town in ''Useless Desires'', to the echoing piano and Emmlyou Harris drifting harmonies in ''Kite Song'' adding weight to the childish memories already hanging heavy in the air. An old man mulling over a life of opportunities wasted is to be found in ''Top of The World''; here Griffin's breathy vocal and Lisa Germano's violin offer a more subtle and intimate atmosphere than in Natalie Maine's version on Home.

The semi-autobiographical ''Florida''tells of two girls cheerfully heading down to the Sunshine State, only to become faces in the crowd. With simple words she hones in on that feeling of isolation; 'Isn't it hard sometimes, isn't it lonely?/ how I still hang around here/ and there's nothing to hold me'.

It's a grower, this album. But to ease you in gently, the UK version includes some great live versions of old tracks ''Chief'', ''Rain'' and ''Truth #2'', recorded in Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. Just the thing to get you in the mood for her live performances in the UK this summer.