The Amber Gatherers

Scottish folksinger Alasdair Roberts has spent the past decade mixing and matching traditional English and Scottish folk music with original compositions that mirror the dour demeanor of the ageless classics. Whether recording under his own name or as Appendix Out, Roberts has adhered to a spare and haunting aesthetic that emphasizes his delicate vocals and tender finger-picking acoustic guitar playing. Though he has often collaborated with other indie-rock musicians to achieve these goals, he has never allowed their presence to sway his own musical vision and hasn’t shied from performing much of his material as a pure solo act. After an album of traditional material produced by his early booster Will Oldham, 2005’s No Earthly Man, Roberts returns with his fourth solo album, The Amber Gatherers, a melodically rich, musically subdued affair. The highlights, “Waxwing,” “I Had A Kiss of the King’s Hand” and “Let Me Lie and Bleed Awhile,” use a relaxed, soothing feel that’s diametrically opposite the rough-hewn delivery of a folk music veteran such as Bert Jansch. In a sense, Roberts is an “easy listening” troubadour, as unlikely as that may be.