Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Who knows Where The Wind Blows, who but those who see the invisible force as a tangible being in its own right can see the path of inevitability that creates a path for the all-seeing to track, and in which chaos is the by product that gives the traveller shelter as the trees and leaves rejoice in the power of nature?
The wind of the world is what we set our sails by in the search of the lost horizon, we hope for a fair gust to put us on course to where there will be inspiration, and when the air is still, when the flags droop and those who sail become becalmed, it is to the wind that we pray to bring us salvation.
To know which way the direction of the wind is blowing is to acknowledge the fortune the fates are showing you, but it takes creativity and genius to act upon them, and even in the most delicate breeze that barely ruffles the feathers of the small creatures in the highest branches, there is power to persuade, to push the belief of spreading your wings; and as Sardinian-born musician Elena Piras elegantly shows in her second album, Where The Wind Blows, the connection is that between air and the ground, the space in between the wind is both kind and dominant leading figure.
It is in the unearthing of the Gaelic and Scottish songs that Ms. Piras has found the dominant peace to which the new album excels at promoting and with accompaniment by Seonaid Aitkin, Angus Lyon, Craig Baxter, Alex Martin and Chris White on tracks and traditional curves such as Wild Mountain Thyme, Fields Of Gold, Yellow On The Broom, The Bleacher Lass o’ Kelvinhaugh, The Last Thing On My Mind and The Parting Glass, the rustle of the conditions supplied are overwhelmingly passionate and follow a current which is undeniably relatable in times in which we shelter from the gathering storm.
Where The Wind Blows, those with an open mind and open eyes will understand the final destination of where the breeze settles, and in advance of any storm, the gentleness which brushes against the skin and makes you feel alive, is to be welcomed, as is Elena Piras in her absolute pomp in this wonderfully produced album.
Ian D. Hall