The Scottish singer’s garlanded 2017 album, A Pocket of Wind Resistance, is a hard act to follow. A companion piece to a theatrical show (now a book), it’s part memoir, part eco-meditation, part songbook and part spoken word. Then there’s her verdict on Donald Trump, voiced by the spirit of Lewis, birthplace of his mother, which passes righteous judgment against its “lost boy” who has “stacked hopes into a pyre”. Polwart’s clear, bell-like vocals have a narrator’s ease and brother Steven (guitar) and Inge Thomson (accordion and more) supply atmosphere. Revisiting her childhood terror of nuclear war (“Protect and Survive” et al) is perhaps fighting yesterday’s battles; otherwise, a flawless outing.

Source: The Guardian October 14, 2018 06:56 UTC