Pilgrim Road

in fine willard grant conspiracy tradition, 'pilgrim road' is the result of chance meetings, online transatlantic collaborations, the input of dozens of musicians and recording and songwriting sessions the world over. overseeing the whole process was the driving force behind the band, one robert fisher. now based in california, fisher has been at the helm since the band's conception in boston during the mid 90s, and has always possessed a keen ear for potential and genre-defying collaborations. the band's two previous albums 'regard the end' (number 4 in uncut's albums of the year 2003) and the follow up 'let it roll' personified this. while the former tapped into an age old folk tradition to deliver a mainly acoustic album of heartbreaking ruminations on mortality and the strength of the human condition, the latter release, with featured guest spots from various members of lambchop, madder rose, the walkabouts and dream syndicate, swung the opposite way and simply rocked out with an unexpected but totally delightful vigour. fisher's journey along the 'pilgrim road' first began back in 2003 when he met malcolm lindsay after a particularly harrowing show at glasgow's barfly. at the time fisher was completely unaware that lindsay was carving himself out a niche as one of scotland's most promising composers. nonetheless, lindsay's offer to put together string or orchestral arrangements for any future compositions intrigued him. the result of such a fortuitous liaison will tick all the right boxes for the devoted and draw in the uninitiated, as lyndsay's evocative arrangements bring a subtle yet dramatic maturity to the party while the band's soul searching 4am vibe recalls tom waits at his 'asylum'-era best. this transatlantic meeting of minds between fisher and lindsay may well result in 'pilgrim road' being hailed as a west-coast classic, albeit one that derives from the western coasts of two very different countries.