It is a difficult task, I imagine, painting an accurate picture of Northern England in song, film, prose, or whatever artistic medium one might decide to use. It's a unique part of the UK, a place where it's easy to find countless real-life examples of the broadest stereotypes and characters, yet at the same time is rife with unexpected subtleties and details that are nigh-on impossible to decipher by the outside observer. A course mix of dourness and humour, in which grim council estates and grey industrial towns are hemmed by the rolling English countryside, and where for every surly brush-off received you're likely to have two pints of warm bitter shouted you, it provides a complex canvas on which the skilled can sketch out stories of tragedy and triumph both large and small.

On her debut album Battle and Victory, Wigan born singer-songwriter Nancy Elizabeth attempts to capture this singular Northern spirit, and more often than not, meets with considerable success. Whereas bands such as the Arctic Monkeys evoke the region through a combination of youthful energy, fiery guitar chords and slyly nudging lyrics that wittily detail the tribulations of growing up in the urban North, Elizabeth, being firmly rooted in the folk tradition, takes a different approach. In contrast to the Arctic Monkey's contemporary, city-based lyricism, she aims for a more timeless quality, immersed more in nature than in suburban streets, and attempts to create a sense of place mainly through an overarching style rather than direct lyrical references.

Thus there is an earthy and unpretentious rawness that pervades the album, no doubt due in part to having been recorded largely in a countryside cottage and a provincial town hall, and this back to basics approach remains consistent throughout. It's a predominantly acoustic affair, which employs a mixed bag of instruments from around the world such as the guitar, cello, dulcimer, khim and accordion, and every slide of the finger down a fret board has reached the album intact. The Celtic harp, played by Elizabeth herself, features prominently on the record, garnering comparisons with Joanna Newsom, but the way in which it's played, like everything else on the album, is slightly rough-edged, suggesting a considerable gulf between the two artists beyond their preference for a particular instrument. Elizabeth's voice is likewise some distance away from the delicate tones of Newsom. She is certainly able to hold a tune, and possesses a warm, engaging vocal, yet at the same time her voice often displays a plain northern gruffness, even flatness, that at times is almost spoken word. Although this may be jarring for some listeners, it is in keeping with the spirit of the album (and with folk music in general), and is perfect for the occasions when she uses a particularly northern turn of phrase such as 'dull as dishwater'.

As mentioned earlier, Battle and Victory is unapologetically and purely folk, perhaps considerably more so than most other artists that have been pigeonholed in the nu-folk movement. It is a testament to how much this is the case that this young newcomer can, on her debut album, convincingly sing a song like 'Off With Your Axe', a tribute to the hard graft endured daily by those working at the coal face, and, on 'Hey Son', can turn the simple, cliched lyrics 'hey son, it's a hard life' into something touchingly profound.