Star rating: ****
Something disarming happens when the Gillyflowers floral-frocked front-woman Kirsten Adamson stops singing. One minute she's belting out her home-grown country-soul laments with a voice that recalls Lone Justice era Maria McKee tempered with the bottle-blonde wisdom of Dolly Parton. The next Adamson is introducing electric guitarist Phil Hopwood as "the fastest fingers in Easter Road" in an east coast of Scotland brogue that's as guilelessly unreconstructed as the waltz-time twang and late-night heart-break which fuels her oeuvre.
With only a handful of shows under their belt, this may be a support slot to Bristol-based punk-folk heroes Babel, but already Adamson and co know how to work a room. With Adamson's voice and acoustic guitar lent harmonic weight by two similarly apparelled female back-up singers, several examples of wild-flower discreetly adorn the stage. Both lend a showbiz dash to an already tight-knit and well-turned-out combo.
The songs subjects are classic country fare, from the tomboyish stomp of Rich Girl to the all-night drunks of the closing Leave A Light On. There's even a song called Country Boy that's as lovely as any other of that name. Adamson is the daughter of the late Stuart Adamson, the driving force behind Big Country and his own country-styled outfit, The Raphaels, but she is already more than capable of standing on her own merits. The post-show music cuts in before the band reach their set-listed encore of We Get Lost, probably their most sublime moment to date. Chances are you'll hear it when The Gillyflowers play Leith Folk Club at The Village on March 6.
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