Byline: Beth Pearson, Keith Bruce and Rob Adams

BEN FOLDS

Songs For Silverman

Epic

4/5

THIS is Folds's second solo album since dispatching with his original band, and his first album with a new band. While his solo debut, Rockin' The Suburbs, saw adventures in rock, the addition of a bassist and drummer appears to have tempered any wayward notions. Landed is great;

poignant but breezy with the classic Folds sense of momentum. Late is addressed to friend and fellow singer-songwriter Elliott Smith before he died, and there's a rare sense of space on Prison Food, plus hint of prog about its structure. These are both songs that benefit from their simplicity, which isn't always the case: f lourishes of strings and harmonies alongside Folds's piano somehow make the songs less sincere. That said, the only real error is Gracie.

The ballad to his young daughter is thematically and musically out of step with the rest of the album, and not a little cheesy.

Beth Pearson

JIM REID

Yont the Tay

Greentrax

4/5

JIM Reid has never enjoyed the broad acclaim that his contribution to Scottish folk music merits,...