Meursault - All Creatures Will Make Merry

(Song, By Toad)

A sizeable measure of expectation surrounds this record, and with good reason: Edinburgh rousing-folk experts Meursault have become a much-loved live attraction since their 2008 debut album. Does this, their follow-up, do them justice? Would we dare to doubt it?

Frontman Neil Pennycook is unveiling himself as one of alternative music’s great talents: a voice that could floor you at twenty paces coupled with a songwriting knack that could break your heart. Augmenting his band from four to six makes for blustering anthems (‘Crank Resolutions’, ‘What You Don’t Have’) but Meursault’s masterful, pared-back ballads (‘Sleet’, ‘A Fair Exchange’) have equal force.