Album Review: James Yorkson - The Cellardyke Recording And Wassailing Society

Ever gregarious, The Cellardyke… is another collaborative affair for rustic Scot troubadour Yorkston. While a bevy of vocalists – Brit folk royalty KT Tunstall included – swan by, the rudest surprise is Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor sitting at the control desk. This is no dance-pop u-turn (fortunately); instead these empathically cognitive talents sound more intimate than ever, with spacious arrangements, shimmery guitar and what might be some glockenspiel and marimba. Occasionally Yorkston overdoes the sentimentality, but otherwise the album is a supremely peaceful pleasure.