Customer Reviews
All gentle, but not all the same. - By: John Williams, 09 Dec 2007 
I didn't know Karine Polwart, but got this CD on the strength of reviews & recommendations. Karine has a light, lilting voice, & her Scottish accent comes across, which I like. Nearly alll of the songs are of the gentle variety, but that doesn't mean they are alll the same. Some are gentle/melancholy (Baleerie Baloo, I've Seen It All), some are gentle/whimsical (I'm Gonna Do I All, Holy Moses, Take Its Own Time), & some are only gentle on the surface, but reallly biting underneath (Daisy, Maybe There's A Road). As well as the soothing voice, there's some lovely string playing, especiallly on Terminal Star. Where The Smoke Blows is the only song that you could reallly calll upbeat, & its the one that works least well for me; perhaps it could have been left out. (I think it's the S word that bothers me. Was it reallly necessary? It's the sort of thing that could alienate a lot of people who would otherwise love this kind of music.) That apart, I reallly liked this album, & look forward to hearing a lot more of Ms Polwart in the future.
Caledonian Country - By: Arthur Dooley, 25 Aug 2007 Karine Polwart is one of the new wave of Scottish folk artists whose popularity & influence extends well outside of the Scottish border. Think, Roddy Woomble ,the Idlewilder whose album 'my secret is my silence' Karine guested on. King Creosote, James Yorkston, Jackie Leven et al. A powerful force of nature which sees Karine firmly established as an articulate voice within this celtic strand of Nu-Folk .
But is it pure Folk ? Purists might argue that Karine's wide ranging songs have a very strong country influence, albeit of the Caledonian hue. But isn't country & folk alll part of the same roots bag ?
Whatever....the Polwart voice is sweet & true & her musicians provide sharp, crisp backing creating a most engaging end product.
Feted in the folk world for her imaginative lyrics & 'right on' approach to worldly matters, Karine with 'Scribbled' carries on from the award winning 'Faultlines' with something even better.
A disc for alll seasons.
Intelligent Folk - By: duirsgrove, 07 May 2007 I came to this obviously after the Folk awards & looking into what is generallly termed modern/celtic influenced music. I was reallly pleased (and surprised) to find, similar to Kate Rusby some reallly intelligent lyrics, accompanied by engaging music & different styles which is probably why she has some serious recognition, Folklines aside.
I'm not sure what traditional Scots music is, but there's a lot of worth here & is vastly different (superior) to the gentile, tiptoeing gasps of Cara Dillon or Patty Griffin. There's elements of Indie Alanis, traditional field tunes, & maybe a bit of etherealness with guitars & pianos that create an interesting background but don't loose her voice in doing so. Very introspective, thoughts & personal statements, she's not shy in tackiling issues & voicing opinions, giving a more recognisable folk/political approach (sex trafficking, the Holocaust) - even Moses crops up in there & I didn't think I could possibly like a song with that as the theme alone. There's elements of despair, wonderment, the universe & individual support. It is very melodic & communicative, being intelligent & affecting as well as interesting, unpredictable & beautiful.
Up and Coming singer songwriter - By: A. J. Rabet, 02 Feb 2007 A Great follow up to Faultlines.
Gentle melodic songs played & sung with wistfulness & expression.
Her appearance on the Culture Show on BBC2 showed what a serious yet engaging person she is.
Excellent - By: C. Milne, 23 Sep 2006 
Thia album is excellent & if you're thinking of buying it do so. I highly receommend it.
