Recorded at his home studio in Helmsdale in north Scotland with musicians including his son, William, there is a sense that Edwyn Collins’s 10th solo album – and his fifth since two life-changing strokes in 2005 – is about homecoming, coming full circle, marking the end of a journey. Quite apart from the explicit references to the village in which he lives on The Bridge Hotel, he sings elsewhere of “winding my way back home”.
There’s also a sense of reckoning. The title track alludes to the speech problems caused by his ill health: “Back when the words came easily/ I had the answer to everything”, something also touched upon on Knowledge. Indeed, his lyrics are equally thoughtful and thought-provoking throughout, the musicianship sensitive and never seizing the spotlight from his still distinctive baritone. Paper Planes and It Must Be Real are particularly beautifully realised; the rousing The Heart Is a Foolish Little Thing conceals rueful and tender sentiments. Collins has just announced a farewell tour for the autumn. One has to hope this compassionate, empathetic record is not his farewell album too.
