Album review: Alasdair Roberts

While homegrown folkies such as Laura Marling are happy to lose themselves in twanging bluegrass and Americana, it’s refreshing to hear a Brit ploughing up our own verdant folk history. Scot troubadour Alasdair Roberts does just that, and while ‘Spoils’ may only have eight songs, when they include the seven-minute opener ‘The Flyting Of Grief & Joy (Eternal Return)’ and rolling eight-minute closer ‘Under No Enchantment (But My Own)’, it’s not like he isn’t pulling his weight. With his mellifluous accent and flashes of humour, he utilises Jethro Tull flutes and Fairport Convention harmonies on ‘You Muses Assist’ while things turn surreal on ‘Unyoked Oxen Turn’, the tale of a man looking for his lost legs.

Leonie Cooper

More on this artist:
Alasdair Roberts NME Artist Page
Alasdair Roberts' website


7 out of 10