Albums

James Yorkston - The Year Of The Leopard

Chris Chinchilla 15/08/2006

Rating: 3/5

I try to avoid mentioning other artists' names as much as possible in reviews, but after just reviewing the new Bonnie Prince Billie album the similarity in style is so close I had to check I was listening to the right CD on several occasions. To be fair James Yorkston's voice is different and there's less of a country influence on his music, but melodically the songs are in the same melancholic, downbeat, lamenting vein played over a bed of gentle acoustic guitar and occasional accompaniment. There's more of a British feel to this album, especially on 'Woozy with Cider', a spoken word track that sums up British life and a musicians life beautifully, not that you would want an entire album of tracks like this, but it shows a more interesting side to James's work and the promise of more to come.