First Edition

(Chemikal Underground)

Reviewers tend to be kind to albums done for a good cause, but there’s no need for such critical charity here: First Edition would be a terrific release under any circumstances. Developing their past work for the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival, Rod Jones and Emma Pollock corralled some top names from Scotland’s indie and folk sectors and encouraged them to team up not on novelty cover versions, but on original songs born out of inspired collaborations. And so we have the guttural accent of The Twilight Sad’s James Graham finally entering a folky fray alongside Karine Polwart (Fall Arch); James Yorkston dabbling in power pop while in a harmonic duet with ex-Delgado Pollock (Forgotten Anniversary); and the distinctive licks of Idlewild and Frightened Rabbit forming something new when Jones and Scott Hutchison get together on I Forgot The Fall. Alasdair Roberts, Jenny Reeve, Jill O’Sullivan, Graeme Smilie and Johnny Scott also make characteristic contributions, but this isn’t a supergroup as much as a succession of revolving partnerships that have pushed the participants to creative heights.