AINSLEY HAMILL
Fable
Ainsley Hamill, is blessed with a voice that is warm and rich, with shades of Karen Carpenter and flourishes of Joni Mitchell, but her Scottishness, particularly apparent when she sings in Gaelic, alongside the pronunciation and unfamiliar phonemes add an additional flavour to what she gives us.
The Carpenters comparison could also be considered not too far wide of the mark in that, while there are songs sung in Gaelic, there is a ‘poppiness’ to some of them alongside the quality, with a singalong element that as a listener you feel compelled to repeat. What this adds is a factor almost of fun alongside the depth. Perhaps the choice of adapted traditional waulking songs is the reason for this as they eveloved for communal singing alongside the working of the cloth.
All is not upbeat and inclusive, as there ius room for ethereal beauty and fragility at times and credit is due for both the interesting sleeve notes and the fact that those songs sung in Scottish Gaelic have an English translation accompanying the original lyrics.
In an album of plentiful surprises, there is none greater than her adaptation of ‘Sinnerman’ most usually associated with Nina Simone but is both a song and a theme that bears interpretation and sharing. Delivered here translated into Gaelic, it underlines what seems to be a spirit of adventure within the collection.
While the focus of the album remains resolutely on Ainsley and her delivery, both in mood and her choice of language, she has surrounded herself with instrumentalists who augment and enhance, whatever she sings, and credit is due for that as well.
Like the whiskey, she celebrates in ‘The Angel’s Share’, there is complexity, depth and a range of flavours, with just enough peat to keep it interesting. It may be a blend, but in the right hands it can be as satisfying as maintaining a single source.
