"I always find Winter a very poetic time" says Claire Campbell from Inverness who performs as Abagail Grey, an alias named after a character that came to her in a dream.
Perhaps it's because of her Scottish roots that the cold, dark nights fuel the creative juices as previously evidenced by her single,Winter & Icycles, and the Dark Wood EP.
For these five new Wintry songs she makes a conscious attempt to move away from the acoustic instruments of her earlier songs and to inject more optimism to counter the tendency towards melancholia. Though the nights are drawing in, the heart can still be full of joy seems to be the underlying message.
She has stuck with tried and tested producers, Chris Geddes, who has worked with Belle & Sebastian, and Tony Doogan whose CV includes Snow Patrol and Teenage Fanclub.
However, one additional touch is that, this time around, tracks are also mastered by highly regarded sound engineer Frank Arkwright at the esteemed Abbey Road studios. This, together with musical assistance from guest collaborators brings an air of sophisticated elegance to her songs.
Campbell's voice is serene and delicate, although at times too irritatingly sweet, particularly of the the la-dee-dum briskness of Winter where we find lyrics about woolly jumpers and the desire to have warmer feet.
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In a similar vein, the skipping rhythms of the closing track Robin are overly mannered and hard to love.
There's a brighter quality to Bee where recollections of a Summer romance life ("I was your Queen Bee") are designed to melt the winter freeze.
She is at her best, though, when able to tone down the tweeness as she does to notable effect on the EP's best track, Starling, an atmospheric song described as "an allegoric lament for our despoilation of the planet".
The opening track Beauty also catches some of the same brightness that you find in quirky songstresses like Jane Siberry or Lisa Hannigan This features Belle and Sebastian's Mick Cook on trumpet and draws positives from getting older and a determination to get away from cynicism.
All in all, there's enough cosy charm in this five track EP to keep many of the gloomier aspects of Winter at bay though not enough to sustain you throughout this season.
Abagail Grey's website
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