A Wonder Working Stone

Alasdair Roberts is blessed with a voice that sounds as if it comes from a different century. Perhaps for American ears, his pure Scottish vocals—which in no way attempt to sing accessible pop—give his music a distant feel. But it's also in the timeless melodies (he has recorded albums of traditional material) and the instrumentation in which acoustic guitars, fiddle, and male-female harmonies remain true to tradition, though Roberts isn't immune to finding new combinations to keep things freshly alive. For A Wonder Working Stone, Roberts adds electric guitarist Ben Reynolds, formerly of Trembling Bells, and the effect is along the lines of Fairport Convention. This may arguably be Roberts' finest album to date. There's an immediate energy to "The Merry Wake" (the Scots know how to throw a funeral!), with Rafe Fitzpatrick's fiddle going toe-to-toe with Reynolds' electric guitar. "The Year of the Burning" kicks out like a Pogues celebration. "The End of Breeding" turns beautifully somber as it weighs in on mortality.