By combining a quiet confidence with full, lush arrangements, ‘When The Haar Rolls In’ is unrestrained and totally affecting.

The album is choc-a-bloc with more tales of waking up drunk in unfamiliar surroundings, stubborn sea winds, dogs chasing ghosts, regrets, joy and love. Honest and beautiful, Yorkston even manages to sound like a Scottish Jacques Brel on ‘Temptation’ as he softly croons “You still dressed like some unkempt Japanese lady and you’re laughing as I murdered the Gaelic.”

Warm and wonderful sounds pop up all over the place to add to the record’s charm. Clarinets, the timpani, violins, concertinas, bull bass, pianos, mandolins, the vibraphone, bouzoukis, banjos and wine glasses all help wrap the songs in warmth and grandeur.

‘When The Haar Rolls In’ was self-produced by Yorkston, a task he has obviously relished. The sound throughout is one of a man let loose and is all the better for the lack of involvement from a big name producer.

Yorkton is also joined by his trusty Athletes – Norma Waterson, Mike Waterson, Mary Gilhooly and Oly Knight – who add a mesmerising mix of dreamy English folk, krautrock and fisherman shanties to this amazing bunch of songs.

‘When The Haar Rolls In’ is a truly original and inventive record that will warm the cockles of your soul.

(4/5)

Calexico – Carried To Dust – (City Slang)

WITH ‘Carried To Dust’ Calexico have defined their sound, calling upon almost two decades of exploration, and an ensemble of musicians that must surely be the envy of bands everywhere.

The album represents the pinnacle of Calexico’s achievement, a thrilling and moving journey through a landscape that draws upon the modern world as much as it does the decayed reminders of times past, stumbling upon unexpected delights whilst always moving forward with a pioneering sense of purpose. It represents a vivid picture of a world in which listeners can immerse themselves much as one is caught up in the tangled narrative of a Steinbeck novel or the imagery of a John Ford film, and confirms Calexico as one of the great American bands of the twenty first century.

Known for their ability to adapt to working with other musicians – from Nancy Sinatra to Neko Case – the cast on ‘Carried To Dust’ includes Sam Beam, who appears on ‘House of Valparaiso’, a furthering of their work on Iron And Wine’s breakthrough release ‘In The Reins’. Tortoise/Brokeback mainstay Douglas McCombs contributes to the ghostly sounds of album closer ‘Contention City’, and Canadian chanteuse Pieta Brown lends her plaintive charms to ‘Slowness’, one of the album’s few love songs.

‘Carried To Dust’ seeks to address each individual in their audience by allowing the natural creaks and echoes to be a feature of the band once again. This record is arguably Calexico’s best album to date, one that reaches beyond their lo-fi roots without sacrificing any of the detail that has made them such a unique band.

(3/5)

Psapp – The Camel’s Back – (Domino)

DYNAMIC duo Galia Durant and Carim Classmann return with their third album of heartfelt pop melodies and magical electronics. Following the success of their first two albums ‘Tiger My Friend’ and ‘The Only Thing I Ever Wanted’ Psapp’s latest album is their most starkly beautiful to date.

‘The Camel’s Back’ is a mature album containing a real sense of triumph over adversity as Galia and Carim welcome us to their charming world of monsters, ants and heartbreak all wrapped up in glorious production, odd noises and a heightened sense of purpose.

Opening track ‘I Want That’ explodes with enthusiasm and brassy squeals, while ‘The Monster Song’ is a hugely catchy little pop ditty. In contrast it is difficult to listen to the title track or ‘Screws’ without being swept away in their intimacy which borders on being claustrophobic in its honest. The duo’s sound is glorious Technicolour, life-affirming, vast and never short of being marvellous or thrilling. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a Sunday afternoon.

Psapp were said to have been lost in a limbo after the highs and lows of success on their approach to this album, but the end results show that this certainly wasn’t the straw that broke ‘The Camel’s Back’.

(4/5)

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