Alasdair Roberts – Fretted and Indebted
Infinite Greyscale – Out Now
It might be a coincidence that Alasdair Roberts’ recent output has embraced a back-to-basics approach, or it might have something to do with the straitened nature of our times, the difficulties posed for a musician who thrives on collaboration and interaction, the practical roadblocks caused by lockdown and self-isolation. Either way, Roberts seems to be enjoying his own company more than ever, musically speaking. The Songs Of My Boyhood – which came out in June – saw him revisit his old Appendix Out material, refashioning those early and comparatively experimental songs into something warmer and more personable. It felt like a consolidation of sorts and hinted at possible new beginnings. Roberts had just become a father; perhaps he was readying himself for any potential emotional changes, or simply registering the closing of one chapter of his life and the start of another.
But Roberts has always seemed to be treading two parallel career paths: on one hand, the wordy, experimental singer-songwriter and on the other, the folklorist and interpreter. So, where The Songs Of My Boyhood looked back at some of his earliest creations, Fretted And Indebted pays homage to the traditional music that has inspired him. Released on Berlin-based indie Infinite Greyscale with a limited run of 300 vinyl copies, it is a thematically curious and visually stunning release: a single-sided twelve-inch record (the reverse side is a screenprint by Ulrich Schmidt-Novak), its ten short tracks alternate between folk tunes played on the acoustic guitar and a cappella renditions of traditional songs. As such, it perfectly shows off Roberts’ two main talents as a folk musician: his nimble and instantly recognisable guitar playing and his soulful, idiosyncratic and heavily accented singing.
The material displays a wide variety of sources. Opener The Blythsome Bridal, for example, was once married to a comic song first published in 1706. It is a briskly tender tune that Roberts originally learnt from the piper Derek Lindsay. Lindsay’s playing also provided the inspiration for two more of the instrumentals. The Braes Of Tulliemet is a lighthearted but evocative Perthshire tune while The Smith’s A Gallant Fireman is more measured but no less beautiful.
Two more tunes – Chief O’Neill’s Favourite and The Flowers Of Edinburgh – are from fiddler Neil McDermott. The former is joyful and intricate, a perfect vehicle for Roberts’ sprightly technique, while the latter has more of a bittersweet feel to it, and Roberts plays it with a languid charm.
Of the unaccompanied songs, The Braes Of Balquhidder is a sweet paean to the Stirlingshire countryside learnt from Tim Lyons’ singing. The Seasons is similarly bucolic but takes on a more melancholy strain. Roberts’ voice is always uniquely expressive, and in these pared-back recordings the emotional range of his singing – and of the source material – shines through with astonishing clarity. False, False, though brief, is crushingly beautiful.
The two most well-known songs here provide two of the record’s most stunning moments. The Curragh Of Kildare has been performed by countless singers, but rarely can it have been sung with such yearning simplicity as Roberts is able to conjure up, while The Silver Tassie – a popular Robert Burns song – provides a fittingly stirring finale.
Fretted And Indebted is a short and in many ways uncomplicated record, but it is by no means inconsequential. Its intriguing format can be seen as a distillation of Roberts skill as an interpreter of traditional music: by shining the spotlight on the songs and singers that have inspired him, he has illuminated some of his own considerable talents.
Order via: https://www.infinitegreyscale.com/
Single sided 12”, pressed to black vinyl, with screen-printed b-side. Edition of 300. Artwork by Paul McDevitt and Cornelius Quabeck. Screenprint by Ulrich Schmidt-Novak. Includes download code
For upcoming live dates visit: http://www.alasdairroberts.com/live/
