Intervening, Formerly Stoic Gulls,

James Yorkston is a local man, of the Kingdom of Fife at least, and as such I should perhaps support him as fervently as I stick up for some other Scottish artists, however, his music hasn’t always found my favour.

I really enjoyed The Year of the Leopard and I am pleased to report that his form has continued with When The Haar Rolls In. Firstly, When The Haar Rolls In is a wonderful title, it’s so earthy and of its origin. There are so many people who don’t know what haar is, fog isn’t a local phenomenon but knowing the special name for the North Sea variety is an adorable way to exclude people, there’s no need to join the BNP.

A talented squad of helpers decorate James’ tales of exchanges with the varied characters of life. The songs are stories, there are few repeated lines; when a lyrical gem goes past, it’s gone and it’ll be equalled or surpassed soon enough.

Tortoise Regrets Hare is the song that is receiving airplay on BBC 6th Music with Marc Riley. Songstress Nancy Elizabeth shares the vocals on song which is about looking upon a the lamentable relationship of a close lady friend with a twerp. I like the local reference, “on the Crail road when it aligns with the North Star, she asked me to write a song about her”.

The title track is magnificent, the banjo part rules. I like the verse about the contemplative walk along the shore, James almost equals Christoper Rush’ poem Beach Debris in the imagery used, ‘the bones and pottery once native of this shoreline paying a visit to the coast hoping to be recognised by descendants of descendants and taken in and loved’.

I hope it’s not insulting or counter-intuitive to state that my favourite song on the album is a version of Lal Waterson’s Midnight Feast on which James shares vocals with The Watersons to create as grand and honest a chorus as there has been all year.