Updating canonical Scottish folk tunes is a rather unfashionable niche, placing these songs within the context of modern/alternative rock is an even tougher chore, but it's one that Scottish neo-traditionalist Alasdair Roberts approaches with pluck and somber intensity. Previously with the band Appendix Out, No Earthly Man is Roberts' third album as a solo artist and it is undoubtedly his most difficult to approach. His previous album, Farewell Sorrow, was a collection of joyful, filigreed songs dedicated to love and lust that could illuminate a room with its glowing warmth. No Earthly Man, however, may as well have been called, "Welcome Back, Sorrow" as it is a collection of traditional death and murder ballads. Aided by Belle and Sebastian's Isobel Campbell on cello and vocals and producer Will Oldham, these songs are delivered with studied, hushed reverence, but also touched with strange and subtle additions: ghostly guitar feedback, mysterious thumps and crashes, off kilter keyboards--all of which serve to set the rather dark mood of the album. Roberts may not have the most supple voice, but his brougish tenor carries ample emotion, it's just that the emotion here is decidedly downcast, with the subject matter ranging from infanticide to death at sea to the poisoning of a youngster. While No Earthly Man can be a challenging listen it is, moreover, a stirring collection of traditional Scottish music served up by an attentive, inventive and loving craftsman. -- Steve Duda