Album Review: The Amber Gatherers

Having showcased his interpretive skills with a selection of traditional folk songs on 2004's stately No Earthly Man, former Appendix Out front man, Alasdair Roberts, this time shifts his focus to illustrate his original material.

The Callander-born songwriter also eschews the unadorned acoustic guitar of the previous album, instead employing a full band, with brushed drums, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards, synthesizers and accordions, courtesy of Tom Crossley, Gareth Eggie and Gerard Love. That Roberts allows electronic instruments to permeate his work doesn't mean that he has altered his seemingly anti-modern ideology, however.

Even though The Amber Gatherers consists entirely of original material and has more diverse instrumentation than any of his previous albums, Roberts, with his anachronism and use of obsolete language, still manages to make the recordings sound like they've existed since the Dark Ages. In less expert hands than Roberts's, the chiasmus of The Cruel War or the time-worn drinking song of I Had A Kiss Of The King's Hand would surely prove unwieldy.

The hand-drawn map of the UK, which trades cities for song titles, affords the package a yet more rustic feel, but it's the tuning guide that perhaps best indicates Roberts's intentions. Having spent three albums tackling traditional folk material, Roberts is encouraging his audience to interpret his songs on their own, with the hope of expanding the public space in which his songs exist. With songs this captivating, Roberts may yet get his wish.