When You Motor Away...: Sister John

Glasgow band Sister John earned justifiable praise for their 2017 album Returned From The Sea and the self-titled sophomore LP two years later. However, it seems to me that their new album, I Am By Day, has a greater reach and, if life is fair, bring the band a much wider audience. While Amanda McKeown's songwriting has been a hallmark of Sister John from the beginning, the songs on this effort are even sharper, more complete, and more adventurous. Ranging from the bright pop of opener "I'll Be Your Life" and the irrepressible sassy peppiness of "In My Place" to the delicately folky electronica of "The Sound of You" to the trance inducing "How Can I Keep It Alive?", I Am By Day is packed with good and well-executed ideas. The three songs that earn the most replays from me are "In My Place", "Strange Ideas", and the glorious album closer, "Glasgow Is A Rainbow", but every track here is worthy of your ears.

Sister John are Amanda McKeown, Jonathan Lilley, Sophie Pranell, and Heather Phillips. I Am By Day is out now via Last Night From Glasgow.