The Seer

The Brahan Seer, Coinneach Odhar, was a legendary 17th-century Gaelic prophet whose writings are the focus for this moody new release from Lauren MacColl. The Seer is fiddler MacColl's debut and a measure of her talents can be seen in the guest list, featuring the contribution of such luminaries as Megan Henderson, Rachel Newton, Mairearad Green, Anna Massie and James Mackintosh. Each tune takes as its focus a snippet of one of the Seer's writings, which leads to some curious subject matter. Stories of Scotland's history, such as the Battle of Culloden (‘Drumossie’), the Highland Clearances (‘And Sheep Will Eat Men’) and even the Caledonian Canal (‘Tomnahurich’) are dealt with assured sensitivity in MacColl's hands.
Opener ‘Coinneach Odhar’ is a dark strathspey firmly in keeping with the mood of the album's theme, while Newton's vocals on ‘Tàladh Choinnich Odhar', sung from the perspective of the Seer's mother, captures perfectly the foreboding gift of second sight. It's a beautifully produced piece of work, with material that is ripe for exploration, and MacColl addresses these writings with poise and style. A sweetly dark but enticing release.