Scotsman finds new worlds in ancient melodies
“When the map and fact mismatch, I will burn the map” Scots folkie Alasdair Roberts proclaims on “Where Twines the Path,” and then he proceeds to prove it by wandering from his native Highlands to “tornadic Arkansas and Alabama” in the space of one verse. It’s a manifesto that drives the 11 original songs on The Amber Gatherers. Deeply indebted to the Scottish folk tradition, Roberts’ ancient melodies, sweet tenor and gentle burr take in bird’s nests, kings covered in seaweed, the Rhine River (which, according to this new geography, arises somewhere in Scotland), the sire of Hell, and a place called “the library of aethers.” He goes a-roving, as countless troubadours have done before him, and finally returns from uncharted lands.