Heather MacLeod - Crossing Tides

(March 2005) 10 tracks: That Ol' Devil Called Drink * Walk The Block * Sunshine * Languid Line * Fantasy * Man Of Many Valentines * Baby, She Don't Know * Red Mist * The Home Strait * Weightless.

Not folk, but certainly Scottish. Heather writes and sings songs with a bluesy jazzy slant. Originally from the Isle of Lewis, but based in Edinburgh for the past decade, Heather is already well known for her singing with such diverse acts as the Eliza Carthy Band, La Boum's Wee Free and Jim Condie's Distant Cousins.

Produced by Heather herself - six of the ten songs here are her own - the album features double bass legend Danny Thompson and double Grammy Award-winner Sugar Blue on harmonica, heading up a hand-picked list of top Scottish based instrumentalists.

Slick and stylish, with a ballady feel, some brisk songs, some sad, but all excellent vehicles for Heather's bold voice.

"Marrying poignant, darkly piquant songwriting with a creamily curvaceous voice that ranged the full gamut from velvety intimacy to majestic, rafter-rattling intensity" (The Scotsman)

"Her style touches on the roots-conscious sound of Portishead and blends this with the finesse of a timeless jazz vocalist." (Blue Note Productions)