CD comments from Scotland

My friend Alan McClure wrote the following nice comments about my new CD, Seven Fathoms:

I've had Seven Fathoms on a lot, and I'm enjoying it very much indeed, from the whole image to the finer details. It took me longer to get the hang of the album than it did with, say, Mist, possibly because there's more 'music' here than before, but that has the advantage of making repeated listenings more rewarding. I occassionally worry that my own stuff is too sparse to hold the attention beyond the first couple of runs through. I enjoy the whole concept of Seven Fathoms, particularly the fact that, even though you're dealing with some pretty dark stuff, you never descend into the maudlin or the melancholy, it's up to the listener to catch the connotations. For example, it wasn't until the third or fourth listen that the phrase "I can't hear the fairy bells" really got me between the eyes.

Favourites have to include Float Down the Danube, which is just a masterclass in storytelling - very clear Decemberists influence there (HUGELY digging them, by the way, thanks so much for introducing me to them!), but always with your own palette - If Life is in A Minor, brilliant, love all the puns in there (My fantasy in F or G!! Great!) and a very nice buildup musically too; Uncertainty Principle, just because it chimes so uncannily close to my own views (did you ever hear my song 'No Conclusions'? It was on the Danny and the Sellouts CD, which I'm not sure if I sent you or not. The chorus was "Happy to be reaching no conclusions, no conclusions from it all!") and of course Squeaky Wheels is just as gorgeous an album closer as you could ask for. Overall, your production skills are enviable in the extreme. There's a very theatrical feel to a lot of the album, and in fact Michelle suggested that you should write a musical for your schoolkids after hearing it. You have an inherent knack for musical narrative, beyond just the lyrical side - the tunes seem to carry the story as much as the words, if you see what I mean.

It's an album which will remain on my playlist for a long time. What comes next?