Scotland's Karine Polwart was a late developer in musical terms; she was nearly 30 before she became a professional, nervously launching a career initially built on traditional Scots music, for which she showed a natural aptitude. She had previously earned a politics and philosophy degree at Dundee University, worked in a primary school, and played in a variety of semi-pro bands before coming to more prominent attention in the groups Malinky and MacAlias. Polwart left Malinky in 2004 to concentrate on her career as a singer/songwriter following the release of her debut solo album, Faultlines. Her second album, Scribbled in Chalk (2006), followed a similar pattern of graphic story-songs encompassing tough topics. ~ Colin Irwin