eMusic Review 0
Scottish singer-songwriter Karine Polwart has grown steadily in stature and confidence ever since her critically acclaimed 2005 debut Faultlines. On her fourth album, This Earthly Spell (reissued here with five extra cuts), her maturity is in full bloom, her voice and style commanding. That much is evident immediately on the enigmatic "Medusa," which considers the fear of stepping beyond the norm before morphing into an anti-war song that addresses the horrors that lurk within us all — with an insistent chorus that gnaws deep into the brain. That's just one of many standouts. There's "Sorry," for instance, which offers a of sassy, bluesy strut and wise, poetic lyrics that would make Lucinda Williams envious; there's also a bristling, tense live version of the old ballad "The Wife Of Usher's Well," which Polwart first recorded on her traditional album Fairest Floo-er. It's a majestic, epic song, but it's a testament to Polwart's skills as a performer that it keeps its stripped-down focus screwed tight all through its eight-minute length.
Still, it's as a writer, rather than interpreter, that Polwart shines. She's a thoughtful, considered lyricist, with the kind of depth you'd expect from someone with a Master's in philosophy, equally exploring… read more »
