Astrid Williamson - Day of the Lone Wolf

Shetland-born, RSAMD graduate Astrid Williamson has not made easy inroads into the fickle music industry, and this is reflected in her third solo album as singer-songwriter. Working outside the influence of producers, she has compiled a mixture of tracks dealing with issues of personal significance as well as more populist themes. There are elements strongly reminiscent of Bjork in Ms Williamson's ethereal vocals; unfortunately, her gifted musicality is abandoned on remixed, overtly-poppy tracks such as Superman 2. There is a haunting quality hanging over the album, possibly derived from her early professional rejections, but hopefully her artistic integrity can be maintained in the face of commercial success. There is no denying Day of the Lone Wolf contains a spark of originality currently absent from folk-based music; perhaps in Ms Williamson's case this will be nurtured into a more interesting mature style. [Lucy Weir]