Alasdair Roberts - Alasdair Roberts '2015

Tracks list

       The music of Alasdair Roberts has such a distinct sound and cadence that
it seems to exist on a separate plane, where ancient themes and stories converge
with sophisticated, complex musical patterns. His almost mystical take on
traditional Scottish fare and dedication to crafting original material in a
similar vein have placed him in a category of his own since the release of his
2001 solo debut The Crook of My Arm. The trends he follows are certainly not of
this century or possibly even the last one, yet somehow he has found a robust
fan base and sturdy home with Chicago's Drag City Records. With the 2015 release
of his self-titled eighth album, his style is still unmistakable, though the
sprawling group instrumentation that adorned 2013's A Wonder Working Stone has
been stripped away to the bare essentials, namely his tremulous high tenor voice
and strident fingerpicked guitar. In that way, it rather resembles his debut,
but where those early songs were a lovingly chosen set of traditional ballads,
these ten originals see Roberts continuing to shamble confidently down the
strange path of his own invention. His guitar work is superb, and the warm
analog recording nuanced and full of depth. The songs are mostly solo, with
Roberts adding occasional organ or percussive flourishes himself on standouts
like "Hurricane Brown" and "The Final Diviner." Guest musicians are few, but
well-chosen and highly effective. Clarinetist Alex South and tin whistle player
Donald Lindsay appear throughout the record in bright dashes of color, as does
the Glaswegian folksinging quartet the Crying Lion, which adds additional layers
of depth, especially on the masterful "In Dispraise of Hunger," whose dissonant
mix of darkness and sunlight is the perfect indicator of the kind of creative
power Roberts now wields. For the casual listener, his music may be a bit heady
and hard to follow, but for fans willing to be challenged, Roberts has delivered
yet another excellent release.

Tracklist:
1.01 - Alasdair Roberts - The Way Unfavoured (3:20)
1.02 - Alasdair Roberts - Honour Song (3:27)
1.03 - Alasdair Roberts - The Problem of Freedom (3:38)
1.04 - Alasdair Roberts - Artless One (4:04)
1.05 - Alasdair Roberts - Hurricane Brown (6:34)
1.06 - Alasdair Roberts - The Final Diviner (4:35)
1.07 - Alasdair Roberts - In Dispraise of Hunger (4:26)
1.08 - Alasdair Roberts - The Mossy Shrine (3:34)
1.09 - Alasdair Roberts - This Uneven Thing (4:18)
1.10 - Alasdair Roberts - Roomful of Relics (3:06)

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