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This Earthly Spell | 
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| Artist: Karine Polwart
Label: Hegri Music
Category: Music
List Price: £13.99
Buy New: £9.18
You Save: £4.81 (34%)
New (29) Used (4) Collectible (1) from £7.49
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 793
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 805520212526
EAN: 0805520212526
ASIN: B0013BKUOQ
Release Date: March 10, 2008
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | The Good Years | | • | Sorry | | • | Better Things | | • | Rivers Run | | • | Painted It White | | • | Firethief | | • | Behind Our | | • | Eyes | | • | The News | | • | Sorrowlessfield | | • | Tongue That Cannot Lie |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Yet another flawless album? Oh and then some! March 10, 2008
Paul Mullins (Cardiff, Wales, UK)
21 out of 23 found this review helpful
Karine didn't have a tricky second album. "Scribbled in Chalk" managed to eclipse the impact of her debut solo album "Faultlines", and "Fairest Floor" followed that with equal aplomb, so surely "This Earthly Spell" will finally be a passing work, a mediocrity, proof that no artist can be that consistent. No. Not a bit. Here are 10 songs that would shame any first album with its treasure trove of long saved songs, that both hold together in their totality and yet offer everything from political vitriol to maternal love. A number of songs have had airings on You-Tube as rough recordings but now shine all the brighter for the airy backing vocals of Inge Thomson or the clever rhythms of messers Foulds & McGuire and the ever creative and tasty, tasty perfect simplicity of brother Steven.
This is real, visceral, potent, charming, intimate and profoundly beautiful song writing delivered by an Artist and band of genuine talent and ability which will push every emotional and cerebral button and leave you oddly comforted in it's very existence.
Spellbound....... April 6, 2008
Mr. R. R. Henderson (Edinburgh)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I only really heard Karine's work for the first time when "Scribbled in Chalk" came out. I listened to the previews of the new album on her myspace page and almost fell off my chair. "Firethief" is powerful and moving especially given the subject matter, "The Good Years" uplifting with it's wonderful melody and vocal harmony and "Sorry" is just too good for words. Actually, there's not a bad song on this. Karine's voice is just perfect, the playing is impeccable, the lyrics are profound and the whole thing made me smile and cry at the same time. I haven't stopped playing it since I bought it. I've already told anyone who will listen that they should buy this album and reward real talent. I'm going to see her in Edinburgh next Sunday and can't wait. Am I gushing? Probably. There's much that is naff about Scottish music but this, currently, is about as good as it gets.
Another cracker! March 10, 2008
Helen Downie (Linlithgow, West Lothian)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Another amazing album from Karine Polwart. From the first time I heard one of her songs on Mike Harding's Radio 2 show I've been hooked. Hot off the heels of Fairest Floo'er is This Earthly Spell with some amazing new songs. The arrangements are fantastic with the instruments & vocals blending beautifully. I particularly love Better Things and the soppy but so lovely Rivers Run.
A mature, wonderful album of beautiful (and gritty) songs. March 31, 2008
Claire Mcghee (Scotland)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
For some songwriters, the re-positioning of priorities that new parenthood brings seems to turn their writing ability to mush overnight. Thankfully, it seems to have had the opposite effect on Karine Polwart. Many of the old concerns are aired again in the songs on This Earthly Spell - anger at the perfidy of our political leaders, the state of the world and the mess being made of it by those who should know better (for those who seem to think Karine has suddenly started writing 'protest songs', have you not been listening over the last few years?). Songs of life, love, fear, beauty and hope are all to be found here.
The band have really matured as a unit over the last couple of years, and the arrangements are varied and rich without being too fussy. I also think Karine's voice has matured, and she sings with greater confidence than ever before. I do have one reservation - I don't think the musical style of 'The News' works. It's one of the good things about Karine and her band that they are not afraid to try working in different musical styles - unlike some reviewers, I don't see this as some kind of betrayal of their trad roots but as a development of a very individual talent - but in the case of this one song I don't think the style works with Karine's voice. Then again, if you don't try something new, how will you know if it works or not? And it may just be me that doesn't like it!
That one small weakness does not lose this album any stars for me, as the whole is incredibly good. Karine is a master of using songs to draw out of you an emotional response that forces you to think about the issues that make her angry, sad, frustrated or joyful.
Buy this album if you listen with your head and your heart, as well as your lugs.
This Earthly Spell March 20, 2008
Mr. M. P. Duffy (Littlehampton, West Sussex United Kingdom)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Two albums from Karine in one year - what more can anyone ask for! I was so pleased to see Firethief included on this album as I absolutely adored this song when I heard it on the radio ballads, it's worth buying the album for alone. It's fantastic to see such a 'modern' issue being tackled in a song adhering to the conventions of traditional music but with a modern edge. I particularly like the way this rather melancholic song blends seemlessly into Behind Our Eyes, a song of restrained hope. These two comprise the heart of the entire album for me.
There is only one song that I'm not keen on from this collection & that's The News. The opening melody reminds me of The Chordettes 'Mr Sandman', which is a bit jarring after Behind Our Eyes. Other than that small gripe, this album shows that Karine really has got a fine talent for producing meaningful, well crafted & perfectly executed albums that not only have great stand-alone songs but that come together to form a cohesive whole.
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