Tea and Confidences is the second collaboration between Irish folksinger Andy White and Blackie and the Rodeo Kings’ Stephen Fearing, who met backstage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. As successful and well-respected artists in their own right, they have nothing to prove, and only themselves to please. The music and words come so naturally, as if by instinct over the course of a conversation that you would never guess the songs were hammered out over the course of two short writing sessions. They aren’t reinventing the wheel, just giving you a smoother ride with subtle wordplay and phrases that are beautiful in their simplicity and a full sound that doesn’t overpower their voices. Over the course of 11 tracks, Tea and Confidences, Fearing and White go from gentle harmonies (“Another Time Another Place”) to Blackie-lie rockers (“We Came Together”) to toe-tappers (“Secret Of A Long Lasting Love”). All in all, it another fine blend of blues-rock and folk for the duo. (fearingandwhite.com) broose tulloch