James Yorkston’s new album is, on first listen, a much more straightforward affair than its sublime predecessor, 2006’s The Year of The Leopard.
But like the haar itself this is merely an illusion, because it’s full
of rich instrumentation and quietly devastating lyrical turns – with
flourishes that will appear over repeated listens and floor you with
their unexpected beauty. As ever, Yorkston has an uncanny knack of
stirring those deep mysterious oceans within the soul with a
well-chosen turn of phrase or subtle melody. The title track swells and
retreats like a midnight tide and The Queen of Spain swaggers with the
magnificent romance of a wedding ceremony aboard a storm-tossed
trawler; Tortoise Regrets Hare is a Darwinian reverie, whilst the cover
of Lal Waterson’s Midnight Feast is performed by Yorkston and members
of Waterson’s family with all the passion you’d expect of such folk
royalty.
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