So It Turns

Nearly four years on from her critically-acclaimed second album, Tied To The Moon, Scottish singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni is back with her third full-length, So It Turns. The ten-track album is Rachel’s most ambitious yet, her self-confessed ‘folk noir’ taken to alluring and often-unexpected new heights. Where Rachel’s last album saw her incorporate darker, grungier elements into her sound, So It Turns sees the Carrbridge-based artist go for something far more composed and polished, but not at the expense of those rockier moments - instead, tuning her craft to a more eclectic and left-field range of reference points. Thanks to the album’s live recording process, the artful production of Axel Reinemer at Berlin’s Jazzanova Studios and the mercurial, genre-shifting instrumentation of her band, the record leaves you uncovering new layers of sonic subtleties with each and every listen. In terms of the subject matter, Rachel weaves stories about everything from her time spent at a Buddhist monastery at the borders of Scotland, to the anticipation and woes of long-distance relationships and the hopelessness, and/or desire for action, that Trump, Brexit and the refugee crisis have inspired over several years. It’s a suitably pared-back and reflexive end to an album that takes you on a captivating and often-unpredictable journey through a spellbinding array of sounds, emotions and experiences - this is Rachel Sermanni at her best, a game-changing landmark release from one of the most promising names in contemporary folk.

The Scottish artist returns with her first album in four years, offering a direct reflection on the politics of modern times