Full Review

Karine Polwart – Scribbled in Chalk

‘Scribbled in Chalk’ is the follow up to Karine’s celebrated debut solo album ‘Faultlines’, a disc that received great reviews across the board and won the best album at the BBC’s Folk Awards. Despite this accolade and numerous ‘best new artist’ comments, Karine is an experienced folk/roots artist having been a member of both Malinky and The Battlefield Band, and rather than standing still after the success of her debut, her experience has served her well and this new disc is a real step up.

She’s a vibrant, engaging live performer and an excellent lyricist, and these all come across in the studio recordings where the lyrics still shine but the addition of extra time and more musicians has given the songs more detail and extra depth. Her folk roots are still present and easy to identify, especially on the more acoustic tracks ‘Daisy’ & ‘Follow the Heron’, but there’s a fuller more polished feel to some numbers that create a nice balance throughout the 12 songs.

Her own acoustic guitar provides the backing for the songs and there’s a good range and variety of instrumentation including piano, Hammond, strings, accordion and glockenspiel. This all creates a perfect backdrop for her clear, expressive vocals to deliver the excellent lyrics; if anything the songs here are stronger than her previous album and there are some great standout tracks with memorable hooks and intelligent lyrics.