Kate Stables occupies such an interesting place in contemporary music culture. As This Is The Kit, her work is never less than beautiful, her songwriting as virtousic and dextrous as it is understated. There's nothing flashy about this stuff; her songs are just so expertly written and subtly arranged that they need the minimum fanfare or decoration, but that's not to say they're without complexity or eccentricity. In some ways, her looping melodies, drifting time signatures and use of counterpoint gives her nominal indie-folk an almost minimalist quality, fluid and dynamic. Through this work, she's carved out a singular niche for herself in the indie landscape, not as a huge name, but as a consistently excellent cult artist seemingly in total control and comfort. It's heartening to see.

New single 'Safety Valve' features another of the UK's very best songwriters, Richard Dawson, lending the track extra vocal gravitas; beyond that, it's classic This Is The Kit, as unassuming, curious and lovely as ever. It's taken from new album Ghost Coat, out 15th January via Memphis Industries.