James Yorkston

CD CHOICE:I Was a Cat from a Book Domino Records****

Like his fellow Fife native and Fence Collective cohort King Creosote, James Yorkston isn’t exactly a household name. Nor is he likely to be anytime soon; his style of folk music is one quietly appreciated by informed musos and those of a certain low-impact persuasion.

Nonetheless, the Scotsman’s output to date has earned him a small but loyal fanbase, which will be pleased to hear that his seventh studio album is one of his best yet. Newcomers to the Yorkston sound may also be won over by his first collection of new songs in four years, as it’s undoubtedly one of the most musically varied of his career.

The co-opting of members of Lamb and Cinematic Orchestra into Yorkston’s usual band makes for a gorgeously fluctuating sound that’s heavy with atmosphere on songs such as This Line Says and Two.

That grave timbre is counterbalanced by the rambunctious canter of tunes such as I Can Take This All and Sometimes the Act of Giving Love, songs that share more than a little DNA with his compatriots Belle Sebastian. Indeed, even some of the quieter numbers, such as the opener, Catch, could almost pass for early songs by that band, with Yorkston’s tender, murmured vocals drawing comparisons with those of Stuart Murdoch.

The addition of female voices (Kathryn Williams and Jill O’Sullivan of Sparrow and the Workshop among them) also deepens the impact of the sleepy rumble of Kath with Rhodes and the plump, piano-led jazz of the chic Just as Scared.

This musical diversity, allied with Yorkston’s typically reflective, sometimes forceful lyrics (some written in the wake of his young daughter’s serious illness, and best on The

Fire and the Flames, and A Short Blues), makes for an album that's warm, loose, sumptuous and heady, but always meticulously crafted. jamesyorkston.co.uk

Download tracks: I Can Take This All, This Line Says