Three days in a row? This could become habit-forming! I wasn’t planning on posting today but I received an email just now that brought this on. As anyone who has seen my posts will know I’m a huge fan of the music of Mary Chapin Carpenter: it is all of two days since I last played something by her! I’m on her email list, and this is what I received:

“Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis, and Karine Polwart have announced the release of their new album Looking For The Thread on January 24; an exciting debut collaboration from the three artists. The first single Hold Everything is out now. Penned by Karine Polwart, the song gives a nod to the world, as it is, and to John Berger’s beautiful and devastating 2008 book Hold Everything Dear: Dispatches on Survival and Resistance.

No-one quite knew what to expect when Mary Chapin sought a collaboration with two of the most adventurous and versatile artists in Scottish music, Julie Fowlis and Karine Polwart – least of all the trio themselves. The results, it transpires, rank among the career highlights of all three. Conceived in the remote west of Scotland and recorded in Spring 2024 at the renowned Real World studios, Looking For The Thread is a rich, resonant and unique record, one which supports and illuminates the core characteristics of each artist while bringing a powerful collective identity to the fore.”

There was only one thing I could possibly do after that: find that newly released single! I did, and it is absolutely beautiful. The vocals are mainly shared by Karine and Julie – their Scottish accents give them away – but just because MCC doesn’t feature much doesn’t mean I don’t like it any less. If you have seen the Transatlantic Sessions on TV you’ll have seen both of the Scots at some point and will know how good they are: I’m happy to say that their music resides in my Apple Music library.

Here is that first song from the album:

Such a beautiful song, and the lyrics offer a kind of companion to my post yesterday about World Children’s Day. If the remaining nine tracks are anything like that I think we are in for a treat. I know I shouldn’t wish my life away but I can’t wait for 24th January: I’m beyond excited 🤩