In the five intervening years between 2014's Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society and its follow-up, The Route to the Harmonium, James Yorkston recorded two albums as part of the earthy minimalist trio Yorkston/Thorne/Khan, founded an ambitious folk club in his native Fife, and published his debut novel, 3 Craws. Since debuting in 2002, the Scottish folk singer has consistently maintained a prolific and multifaceted output, and as his career has progressed, his albums have increasingly reflected this sort of all-in-one art form, often bypassing typical folk song structures and coming across as a sort of freewheeling panoply of ideas and layers. Like its predecessor, The Route to the Harmonium, his ninth solo outing, combines a sort of meandering personal journal approach with arrangements that veer from solitary fingerpicking to robust stacks of brass, drums, and an unusual amount of zither. Peppered in between wistful charmers like "The Blue of the Thistle" and "The Villages I Have Known My Entire Life" are miniature epics like "The Irish Wars of Independence" and "My Mouth Ain't No Bible," both of which rely on Yorkston's spoken word narratives and unique orchestrations. To those unfamiliar with his work, the roaming nature of his writing style can take some getting used to, but he's also got a knack for inserting sweet, soaring melodies that keep the story moving along. Recorded in bits and pieces at his rustic home studio in the small fishing village of Cellardyke, Harmonium -- which also features production and mixing from longtime collaborator David Wrench -- feels like a natural continuation of the enduring and hyper-localized chronicle he's promoted since his early days. Much like his former Fence Collective counterpart Kenny Anderson (King Creosote) and others who came up through Fife's close-knit musical community, Yorkston's devotion to regionalism and his own self-mythology remains a central aspect of his presentation, and with this album, he offers another mesmerizing glimpse into that strange but increasingly familiar world.
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