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It’s rare for a musician to have an instantly recognisable signature sound that holds up for two decades or more without any discernible drop in quality, and rarer still for that sound to be defined by subtlety, mystery and a certain kind of poignancy that is almost impossible to pin down. Neil Hannon, perhaps, is an example, and so too is Kurt Wagner: musicians who aren’t afraid to change, but always stay true to a kind of unique and definitive aesthetic.
Another quality these songwriters possess is the way in which they play with notions of nostalgia and melancholy without ever tumbling into mawkishness. Their songs are characterised by a specificity of detail that would make many a novelist envious. It should come as no surprise then that James Yorkston, one of the few songwriters who fit into the category I have described above, is also a critically lauded novelist. His songs often have a narrative element, and unfold like interlinked short stories, full of apparently autobiographical content – to the extent that it is often tempting to map his life through his twenty-year career.

The band joined Yorkston in the studio without prior knowledge of any of the songs, with the exception of first track Ella Mary Leather, which provides a propulsive and catchy opening. The rest of the album has that slow-burning, exploratory feel that we have come to expect from Yorkston, with an improvisatory feel. To Soothe Her Wee Bit Sorrows unfolds over seven and a half minutes, soft but insistent. It’s a perfect example of the way his songs can get under your skin without you knowing how – the ingredients are minimal and unshowy, but the result is unexpectedly moving.

Yorkston’s sound is often influenced by the place he has chosen to write or record in, and those decisions always seem to be wisely made. The Wide, Wide River’s similarity to Veedon Fleece, Music From Big Pink or even the folkier bits of Led Zeppelin III may be superficial, but the fact that all of those albums were directly inspired by a visit to an unfamiliar location is no coincidence. There Is No Upside’s intro recalls Dylan circa John Wesley Harding, before the song grows into something much more serpentine, with Ulrika Gyllenberg‘s winding fiddle lines and a vocal performance that harks back to Yorkston’s early punk days. It will be remembered as one of his best and most potent songs.

A Droplet Forms is very different in mood – a mixture of metaphysical poetry and Incredible String Band-style freak-folk. The warm strings and guitar of Struggle mingle with a backing vocal that sounds like it was carried in on the north wind, and the result is a heady concoction. A Very Old-Fashioned Blues is beautiful and elegiac, immersive and fiery, its backing vocals nudging it into Richard and Linda Thompson territory. This, along with songs like Choices Like Wide Rivers (with conversational verses that give way to a memorable and melodic chorus), shows the importance of the Second Hand Orchestra to the album’s overall sound – they are unobtrusive when needed to be, but are never afraid to show their individual talents when the occasion arises. This is particularly remarkable given the improvisational nature of the recording.

There is space all over this album – thinking space, breathing space – space to be interpreted by the musicians and also by listeners. It is a minimal aesthetic that owes something to the determined restraint of krautrock, but its effect here is inclusive and intriguing. That combination of closeness and mystery – a thread that runs through all of his records – is one of the reasons Yorkston is amongst the very best songwriters of his generation; The Wide, Wide River is yet another career highlight.

Tracks:  
Tracklisting:
1. Ella Mary Leather
2. To Soothe Her Wee Bit Sorrows
3. Choices, Like Wide Rivers
4. Struggle
5. There Is No Upside
6. A Droplet Forms
7. A Very Old-Fashioned Blues
8. We Test The Beams

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhJw5K-LLpw&feature=emb_logo