A first live offering of Emma Pollock’s well-received, new album In Search Of Harperfield is not something to miss. The personal nature of the album material which deals with the loss of her mother and her father’s illness seems to make for an intimate gig with Pollock chatting away as she tunes her guitar before beginning and between songs.

It’s not surprising then that the first song is ‘Cannot Keep A Secret’. The four-piece set up on stage handle this eerie opening with an echoing piano to back Pollock’s occasionally whispered but always clear vocals. Now, they turn upbeat with a mix of songs from the new album and her previous one, The Law Of Large Numbers. One of the strengths of In Search Of Harperfield is the story it tells and the emotional atmosphere that it builds. This not entirely lost in this performance as the audience listens intently giving generous and almost theatrical applause at the end of each song. The choices of old and new songs intend to maintain that feeling with ‘Confessions’ followed by, in her own words, ‘a trip down the rabbit hole’ in ‘Alabaster’.

The show is not uniformly successful. Using a sole guitar accompaniment rather than the strings of the album works well in the loudly requested encore of ‘Dark Skies’ but does not quite come off in ‘Intermission’. The most obviously pop track, ‘Parks And Recreation’ gets a lively outing but there is little effort to try to show that there are two voices (the bully and the victim) in the song. The unfortunate absence of guitarist of R M Hubbert due to illness means there is a bit of live ‘band consultation’ about a change to the set list. However, there is so much good material on show and Pollock has such an easy, friendly stage presence that this can be easily forgiven.

The gig shows off Emma Pollock’s vocal and song-writing talents and as the early wrinkles are sorted out, the tour will no doubt delight audiences.

In Search Of Harperfield is an engagingly personal and highly assured new album from Emma Pollock. The variety of styles and arrangements combine with her lilting vocals to craft some excellent tracks. However, the album's power lies in the whole. Tracks echo each other musically and lyrically to draw the listener through from beginning to end.

This album is Pollock's third since the break - up of The Delgados in 2005. Its personal nature is immediately apparent as the Harperfield of the title is her childhood home in Galloway and the album cover is a picture of her father working his land. The powerful, emotional background for Pollock is the loss of her mother and her father's recent illness.

The album can be seen as a look to the past and how it has shaped her. She tries to imagine the ups and downs of her parents' relationships as young adults in 'Don't Make Me Wait', 'Alabaster' and 'Clemency'. The album then turns at 'Intermission' which jumps forward in time to her father in his sick bed but this sad turn, accompanied by weeping strings, is again not so downbeat since the track's title indicates there is still a second half to follow. In the remaining tracks, Pollock tracks her own passage through childhood to adulthood beginning with a tale of handling bullying in 'Parks And Recreation' through to her loss of religion but not her sense of wonder in 'Dark Skies'. The sad finale of 'Old Ghosts' closes out the album not with tears but the realisation of the universal truth that we will always be children when confronted by our parents.

The album calls for a careful listening from the ghostly opening track which draws the listener in asking "Will you dip your toe gently in the water?"and the hook is in the track's title; she 'Cannot Keep A Secret'. This introduction also shows musical variation with an echoing piano hinting at darkness or sadness in the verses which is lifted by the strong, hopeful vocals in the chorus.

Pollock's vocals are smooth and full of emotion but never fall into the hysterical or maudlin. The thoughtfulness of the lyrics is matched by string arrangements. There are some clever percussive elements such as the use of staccato beats to suggest time passing metronomically in 'Alabaster' or 'Intermission' and  the playground handclap on 'Parks And Recreation'.

Throughout, this is an album that rewards attention. There are no obvious pop hit tracks, though many such as 'Parks And Recreation' and 'Dark Skies' to enjoy. A grand escape to another time and place but one that is recognisable to any adult.

In Search Of Harperfield is available from amazon & iTunes.

Should you though wish to try and win a copy of the album rather than purchase it here's how you can with us:-

Chemikal Underground have kindly set aside an LP copy of the album for the first person to be picked from the virtual hat via a direct message to us (@musosguide) on Twitter with the answer to the following question -

"Emma was part of a collaborative project that featured prominent Scottish and Canadian musicians. What was the name of the project?" 

A. Accident And Emergency

B. The Burns Unit 

C. Geriatric Ward

The competition is not open to contributors to Musos' Guide and the closing date is February 10 at 17:00. Good luck!