James Yorkston: I Was a Cat from a Book – review

The Fife folkie has always framed his gentle burr and poetic lyrics with care, as perfected on 2008's semi-orchestral When the Haar Rolls In . Recorded with a new band, this is a looser affair, shifting slightly awkwardly between characteristic intimacy and angry eruptions delivered to a flurry of instrumentation. Moments of delight snatched against looming mortality are the common thread. The tremulous The Fire & the Flames recalls time with his daughter during illness and the romantic Catch steals up atmospherically to strings and piano, while the duet Just As Scared is a jaunty interlude. Not flawless but always affecting.