Having returned from his voyages of discovery around the globe, Alasdair Roberts has his resigned himself to recording an album of traditional songs and new personal epics written with an emotional investment and a sense of urgency. Entitled, Too Long In This Condition, this treasure trove of tunes harks back to times gone by and includes a whole host of instruments and melodies that will bring to mind the Scottish countryside, the Highlands, and cold Dundonian nights alongside the river Tay.
If anyone can capture traditional Scottish sounds (sans bagpipes) with a modern feel and make them more heartwarming then Alasdair, I would love to meet them. Alasdair's enunciation and emotion coat each of the songs on Too Long In This Condition making them personal and enthralling to listen to. When you add a revolving cast of friends and musicians to his already diverse palette you have an album that is so rich and so culturally staggering that you can almost feel the tartan and wool coming through the speakers. At times on Too Long In This Condition it sounds as if he's singing sea shanties, old pub songs, and ancient love ballads and it's the way he writes those songs, interprets the traditional works, and then croons them that makes them so alluring, fascinating and simply gorgeous.
Alasdair clearly is not from our era, he's a messenger sent forward in time to show mankind how the simple life sometimes is the best way. In a world gone mad it's comforting to know that someone as knowledgeable and traditional like Alasdair is around. That knowledge does not go to waste as Too Long In This Condition is a lovely, seductive folk record with sounds that will haunt your soul long after they're gone. From the intricate medieval like, "The Daemon Lover," to the longing and lovelorn intimacy of "The Lover's Ghost," Alasdair Roberts has written a touchingly quiet and stirring record that's absolutely beautiful and a joy to listen to repeatedly.
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