Steeped in the heady conventions of Scottish and English folk, Glasgow-based Alasdair Roberts is a man intimately familiar with his roots. No mere throwback artist, the canny singer/songwriter brings a modern producer's sense of depth, drama and arrangement to his bucolic tracks. On traditional numbers like “The Magpie's Nest”, Roberts warbles and wavers over a muted strum, an Old World answer to Will Oldham. On more recent original fare, like the rousing title track from 2017's Pangs, a crisp rhythm section and a bracing burr set his acoustic melodies squarely in the 21st century.