Back in March, we shared the news that the Scottish trio Salt House (Jenny Sturgeon, Ewan MacPherson and Lauren MacColl) had a new album on the way titled Riverwood, which follows hot on the heels of the EP ‘Working for Zeus’ and the acclaimed 2020 album ‘Huam’.
That announcement was made in conjunction with the release of their beautiful lead single, Headwater. They have announced that the album will be released on 10th March 2023 and is available to pre-order now via Hudson Records – https://hudsonrecords.co.uk/product/salt-house-riverwoods.
In case you missed it, here’s the accompanying video for Headwater:
Alongside their solo projects, the songs of Salt House have always been firmly rooted in place, people and their shared love of the natural world, and their new album is no exception.
Thomas Blake noted in his album review of their last studio album ‘Huam‘ (2020), that their music seemed to be “fully-formed from the depths of the countryside”, later adding that “The lyrics visit the recurring theme of the warmth of home and hearth in contrast to the snow and tumult of nature, and there is a hint of eastern philosophy in the notion that the balance between the two is what’s important.”
The music of their new album was inspired by and featured in the conservation film ‘Riverwoods: An Untold Story’ by Scotland: The Big Picture (see trailer below), which has just been released. Three years in the making, Riverwoods shines a light on the perilous state of Scotland’s salmon and tells the compelling story of an inextricable relationship between fish and forest. The Atlantic Salmon are a key indicator species, the ‘canary in the coalmine’ if you like; their presence, or decline, indicates an ecosystem’s health. The salmon rely on clean, cold water, and woodlands play a vital role in providing that, especially with climate change. I’ve seen this first-hand here in Somerset, where Atlantic Salmon travel up the River Tone via the River Parrett, leaping the weirs along the way to the cool gravel beds to spawn in woodland near to where I live.
Salt House expands on the film’s theme in their new album as they explore their interest in the natural world and our human impact upon it.
Riverwoods is available on CD, Signed CD, Black LP, Limited Edition Sky Blue LP, and Superfan bundles which include a signed limited edition lyric print. Salt House are once again supporting rewilding in the Highlands through Trees for Life.
Pre-order it here: https://hudsonrecords.co.uk/product/salt-house-riverwoods.
