An impressive collection of songs

On How We Once Were, the Dundee singer/guitarist looks outwards to other styles. The deep twang of Marty Camino’s bass lends a jazzier, liberated vibe, Kempston’s precisely picked guitar occasionally reaches for a classical phrase or tumbles down a blues riff, while Adam Nash’s fiddle drifts away from its Celtic roots to play around on other corners of the world music map. Songs such as Estranged and Roland are as lovely as anything Kempston has ever written, and it’s clear that, year on year, he’s building himself quite a repertoire. There’s a real sense of craft here

Unusual & unmistakeable

Kempston’s densely worded songs are freighted with angst and regret. They’re delivered in his distinctively tremulous vocals and finely framed by the delicate fretwork of his own fingerstyle guitar, fellow guitarist Louie Robertson and bassist Marty Camino, with lyrical violin from Adam Nash and discreet percussion from Rory MacDonald. His querrulous, clipped tones are sometimes little more than an anguished cry in the dark; Kempston delivers with feeling.

Lovely songs, elegantly & beautifully played

So engaging, very special…..just gorgeous