Lord Of The Isles - In Waves (2016)

In Waves is the debut album from Lord of the Isles aka Scottish producer Neil McDonald. As expansive as a boat ride through a rain-swept Highlands loch, it starts with the wispy, ethereal ambience of "Airgoid Meall" and "Years Away". The playful, stop-start rhythm of "Liobasta" provides a kooky interlude to the generally deep mood, before "Obar Liobhaite" plunges back in with floaty, serene ambience. That reflective sensibility is again temporarily pierced by the acrid, spiky rhythm of recent single "Weh-In", but in the main, this is a reflective work, best characterised by the neo-classical piano composition, "Gualainn".