Full Review

Emily Smith – A Different Life

Since winning the young Scottish traditional musician of the year while still a student in 2002, Emily has steadily increased her profile and this, her second album sees her poised to become one of the strongest and best known folk artists in the UK.

Treading similar ground to most contemporary folk artists this album is a mixture of trad material and self written songs with their roots in folk music – it’s a proven way of constructing modern folk albums but it works especially well here with her own songs blending well with the established tracks.

While Emily is a talented musician (her own piano and accordion is used throughout) it’s her vocals that really stand out, she has confident, powerful and expressive voice that is as equally at home when backed with full instrumentation as it is unaccompanied.

There are many excellent songs amongst the 12 tracks, ‘It Fell About the Martinmas’ and ‘The Lowlands of Holland’ are both wonderful songs set to Smith’s music, and ‘Go to Town’ is an upbeat self-written track.

‘A Different Life’ is an exceptional modern folk album, and a marker from an artist who will definitely become more widely known over the coming years. Very highly recommended.