Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

In the voice of a siren, a person can feel their cares gently swept away, they can be swayed by the temper and the tempting and the listener is always grateful for the experience, forever in debt to the swirling thoughts of the tempest and the chance to feel the beauty in the combination of the rage and the placid call to which the siren sings.

It is the myths of the Scottish coasts, that such figures rival the Greek temptation seekers, but these sirens are more finely attuned to the rough seas and jagged rocks of interaction than those that were attempted to avoid by Ulysses and his crew, instead the Western Edge of Europe and the start of the long journey to Newfoundland, and the wider world beyond; it is in the songs of artists such as Siobhan Miller that Ulysses himself would have found the temptation a godsend rather than a diversion to the journey undertaken. ]

If by supporting Eddi Reader the temptation to explore and delve further into the world of Scottish Folk music takes your fancy, then Siobhan Miller is one in which to aim your vessel through the choppy waters for, a moment in the live arena is always worth fighting of the sharks and embracing the island in which you find yourself upon.

A short set on a mid-May evening is always intriguing, but in the hands of Siobhan Miller, it became a calling card, an introduction of love and spirit, to which the Epstein audience gladly took to their hearts. Sweet, natural, unscented, unadorned with everything but genuine skill and passion, Ms. Miler and her band took songs such as The Banks of Newfoundland, Western Edge, One Too Many Mornings, Pound a Week Rise and Rambling Rover and gave them a permanent home inside the valuable walls and space of the Epstein Theatre, gave them life to breathe in those who saw the siren and embraced the voice of one of the most stirring voices to come out of Scotland this century.

A beautiful set, the siren smiling, the captured souls of the audience willingly surrendered, in such moments the heart of music becomes clear and fortunate.

Siobhan Miller will be at the Music Rooms at the Philharmonic Hall in November.

Ian D. Hall