James Yorkston and the Athletes - Just Beyond the River

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Folk heartlands

Domino - 2004 - 49 minutes

James Yorkston's debut, 'Moving Up Country', ranked as one of 2002's standouts - you sat down for a quick listen and ended up getting lost for hours. Now 'Just Beyond the River' is another album that consigns time to the dustbin. It's less immediate than '...Country', but the further you go, the less you'll want to come back from these folk heartlands.

"Have I a future, have I a lover who understands?" wonders Yorkston, with the irony being that anyone that hears this record is likely to swoon. Together with his band and producer Kieran (Four Tet) Hebden, Yorkston has come up with a sound that's beautifully intricate, but relaxed enough to sound like it all came together in an afternoon. And you'll find that there's no better way to spend one - or a hundred.

Harry Guerin

Tracklisting: Heron - Shipwreckers - Surf Song - Hermitage - Hotel - This Time Tomorrow - Banjo 1 - We Flew Blind - Banjo 2 - The Snow It Melts the Soonest