Siobhan Miller is a Scottish folk artist who combines her beautiful voice with a talent for creating some wonderful arrangements of traditional Scottish folk songs. She has won the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards "Singer of the Year'"title an unprecedented four times, which is also rather impressive for someone only in her late 20s.

Her latest album, Bloom, is her fifth release. For it, she surrounded herself with a great group of musicians, including Kris Drever, Eddi Reader, Louis Abbott and Ian Carr, and the result is a delightful collection of songs. She described the album as an opportunity to rework some of her favorite traditional songs that she grew up listening to on the Scottish folk circuit.

The album opens with a slightly livelier and more rhythmic version of Silly Wizard's "Queen Of Argyle." "Cold Blows the Rainy Night" also is a slightly livelier version than we are used to hearing. The same is true with her more rhythmic treatment of Ewan MacColl's "Go, Move, Shift."

Siobhan's voice really shines on "Star o' the Bar," a song that I was familiar with from Old Blind Dogs. One of the album's most beautiful songs is her rendition of "Battle of Waterloo," another often song associated with OBD, and her version stays close to Jim Malcom's arraignment of the song. She found a way to turn The Dubliners classic "I'm a Rover" into a happier and more cheerful sounding song than we are used to hearing.

The album closes with her version of "Wild Mountain Thyme." Many of these songs are likely what you would hear in any folk club in Scotland, which makes this album a real nice treat for anyone who enjoys Scottish folk music.

[ visit Siobhan Miller's website ]