I was a bit crap in 2009 and spent a lot of time pointlessly soul-searching instead of writing. This year I intend to make up for it and catch up on a few things I should have written about ages ago. This is the first. 

Emily Scott - abcdefg.. etc..

 This little gem arrived in a beautiful hand-made package, and the feeling of meticulous care and attention carries through to the music inside, which although it fits in with the folky feel that’s prevalent right now around Edinburgh, also has a definite 1930‘s Cole Porter vibe which has me picturing gentle trips down a country lane in a horse-drawn carriage, picnics in meadows and romantic liaisons in rowing boats.  

 Though it does have a jazzy jauntiness, Emily’s gorgeous voice also has a melancholy feel, and is beautifully accompanied by her own delicately plucked guitar, piano and double-bass as well as  banjo and harp. There’s also a similar feel to some of James Yorkston’s songs, and it just happens that the album is mastered by his long-time accomplice Reuben Taylor. 

 “I’m so tired of moving on” she sings, taking on the role of a restless soul who’s had enough of searching for something that might not even exist.  The track ‘Don’t You Tease Me’ is bursting with metaphors about an irresistible, incorrigible flirt, but we’re none the wiser to whether these are based on her own experience or merely literary creations. I think it’s best not to know and just go along for the blissful boat ride. 

Emily Scott on myspace

Interview with Emily at www.scotsman.com

You can get the album from AVALANCHE and ELVIS SHAKESPEARE in edinburgh, MONORAIL in glasgow, ROUGH TRADE in london, and many more... also from www.aufgeladenundbereit.com