It's not very often I hear an album that blows me away -- it happens once a year at best.

It happened last night.

In a package from London, along with a bundle of essential spares for my artificial leg, which I'd neglected to bring to Washington and subsequently regretted, came a copy of Up All Night by Australian folksters The Waifs.

I heard one of their tracks on a compilation from Tony and I finally decided to splash out for the CD.

I'm glad I did. It's a rocking mix of country, blues and folk. Go buy.

(See a video of The Waifs at last year's Cambridge Folk Festival here.)