James Yorkston
The Wide Wide River
Release Date: Jan 22, 2021
Genre(s): Classical, Folk, Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Folk, British Folk
Record label: Domino
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Album Review: The Wide Wide River by James Yorkston
Excellent, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Multi-faceted troubadour James Yorkston has explored many dimensions during his two decades of work. In addition to his numerous albums of eclectic folk music, the Scottish singer/songwriter has made a trio of records as part of the earthy U.K.-Indian trio Yorkston/Thorne/Khan and authored several books of both fiction and memoir. His previous solo outing, 2019's The Route to the Harmonium, followed the lineage of sprawling self-exploration that has been a hallmark particularly of his later work.
Based on rating 8
Fife-based genius James Yorkston pairs with old friend Karl-Jonas Winqvist's Second Hand Orchestra for a vodka-splashed voyage down life's wild, wide river. From Ella Mary Leather (regretted only on 'certain days of the year') and To Soothe Her Wee Bit Sorrows' study of pacification - he has flair for characterisation, painting a world within the skeleton of a song. But the music! It's contagious joy to hear players with such abandon and intuition, braiding their lines together: brass, brushed drums, the lyric of a singing fiddle.
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