Dark Harvest is a reflective, deeply personal and aggressively conscientious album from Scottish songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Malcolm MacWatt. MacWatt, according to press materials accompanying the album, hails from Morayshire "with the Highlands and North Sea as a constant backdrop," and he was raised "listening to the folklore and music of Scotland," which greatly influenced his musical journey.

Before turning to music as a career, MacWatt had diverse occupations, such as working on offshore oil rigs and writing for a newspaper. Dark Harvest is his sixth full-length album, although the first I've heard.

These aren't the sort of songs you're likely to find yourself humming later. The melodies aren't necessarily infectious or memorable, and the music itself is fairly sparse, providing a framework for MacWatt's potent lyrics, which are the primary focus here. Only a few tracks -- such as "She Told Me Not to Go," about a ill-fated whaler, and "The Last Bowman," a mournful reflection on the rise of guns and bombs -- get more ambitious with their arrangements. Don't get fooled, though -- MacWatt doesn't employ a large band of musicians. With just a few exceptions, the music is layered beneath his voice by his own hand.

He does bring in a few guests, however, who are scattered throughout the album: Nathan Bell (guitars, spoken word), Phil Dearing (piano, electric guitar), Shannon Hynes (backing vocals), Gillian MacWatt (fiddle), Ian MacWatt (snare drum), Dave Martin (bodhran) and Pat McManus (electric guitar).

The 14 original songs tackle issues ranging from racism and equality to Scottish independence and unity. "The Church & the Crown" is a sad discourse on the ways that government and religion both keep the poor in thrall to the status quo (based, according to another review, on the Peasants Revolt of 1381). The murder of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine in 2014 is memorialized in "Red River Woman."

The title track features Nathan Bell's recitation on the anthrax spores that contaminated the Scottish island of Gruinard after it was secretly used to test biological weapons during World War II; the mess wasn't cleaned up until after, in 1981, an anonymous gang of eco-activists dubbed the Dark Harvest Commandos deposited samples of contaminated soil from the island at a Tory Party conference.

"Empire in Me," with guest vocalist Angeline Morrison, is told from the perspective of the child of a Scottish-born slave owner and one of his slaves. "Buffalo Thunder" salutes the efforts of Scottish-born James "Scotty" Philip, who failed as a Black Hills miner but whose efforts as a rancher helped to preserve the American bison from extinction. Philip also gets a nod in the cowboy-themed "Out on the Western Plain," which also mentions the likes of Buffalo Bill Cody, George Custer, Jesse Chisholm, Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

Another historic reference comes in "Brave David Tyrie," a stark tale of a Scottish naval clerk who, in 1782, was hanged, drawn and quartered after being arrested of treason with the French. The joyful "Drowsy Maggie," a traditional Irish reel, leads into a dark, ominous song about drugs, danger and death.

The album closes with "Semi Scotsman," which derives from MacWatt's background as, in his words, a "mixed race Scot." The text celebrates Scotland, past and present, and prays for its future.

Typically filed under "British folk," I've seen MacWatt's style of music described as "Scots-Americana," which is an apt label for it. Although the songs are somber and often are structurally simple, they deliver an empathetic and humane message that stretches across oceans and national boundaries. You should give it a listen -- it will give you a lot to think about.

[ visit Malcolm MacWatt's website ]