This impressive full-length debut from Glasgow-based neo-folksters Doghouse Roses puts it best foot firmly forwards. Opening track Gone There sets out their stall assuredly with Iona Macdonald’s plaintive, anglo-vowelled voice chiming clearly over the urgent guitar-picking of Paul Tasker, a man who has clearly paid studious attention to the fingerwork of folk’s living legend Bert Jansch.
With production duties handled by acclaimed composer/producer Malcolm Lindsay (who recently recorded the Willard Grant Conspiracy album, Pilgrim Road, in his home-studio), vocals and guitar are given rightful prominence, with strings and horns embellishing the sound tastefully in the main – although things do go somewhat awry in Border Hills with the addition of campfire bongos. It’s not surprising, given that Macdonald and Tasker are a partnership in more than just the musical sense, that they are strongest at their most intimate. All I Knew, Pilgrim’s Tale and Happiness all argue that their strength lies in the simple approach. ****
Peter Isles, 28/9/2008
The Sunday Herald
