Karine Polwart - A Pocket Of Wind Resistance review: Beautiful and brilliant
By MARTIN TOWNSEND
Nov 19, 2017
4 / 5 stars
It’s hard to believe that the carving of a child’s crib or the death of a fledgling swallow on a kitchen floor can be rendered with the poignancy that they are here, still less woven into such an extraordinary musical meditation on everything from childbirth to warfare.
But Stirlingshire-born Polwart is one of modern folk music’s most formidable talents.
Working with a subtle and highly imaginative sound designer, Pippa Murphy, and taking as her inspiration the miraculous teamwork of migrating geese, she has built a cycle of song, chant and spoken word that explores, in almost microscopic detail, how we all depend on each other.
Recently showcased on stage in Edinburgh, this is a beautiful and brilliant piece of work.