ALBUM REVIEW: Siobhan Wilson – The Departure

Suffering Fools Records

Released: 10.05.19

Having dabbled with folk and neo-classical tropes during previous ruminations, this sophomore effort sees Edinburgh’s Siobhan Wilson strive for a decidedly darker tone. Dense beds of distortion seem a suitably claustrophobic companion to Marry Me and All Dressed Up Tonight’s themes of autonomy and societal pressure, so it’s a shame that sheer compression more often than not works to their detriment.

Elsewhere, a guest vocal from Honeyblood’s Stina Tweeddale mingles awkwardly with Wilson’s more tender delivery – yet for all The Departure’s questionable arrangements its maker’s gifts remain palpable. A relic from her years spent in Paris, a closing rendition of Barbara’s Dis, Quand Reviendras-Tu proves a stark, spellbinding delight – and evidence perhaps of Wilson’s true forte lying in minimalism.