Pop careerists might be excused for regarding The Blue Nile, the Scottish pop trio helmed by singer and songwriter Paul Buchanan, as suicidal: In a business where timing is all, the Nile have managed to squeeze out just three albums in 15 years, supported by only two major concert tours. Why, then, should we care about their music? The answer lies in their deeply emotional, often epic albums, which have made them darlings among a cult as noteworthy for its high-profile peer membership as for its evanescence. Buchanan is a brilliant writer and singer who can channel Sinatra's elegant aloofness and Al Green's ecstatic whisper while remaining staunchly rooted in his Scottish identity, and his songs trade in the mundane details of daily life while reaching for epic scale in their emotional settings. Peace At Last, their first album for an American label, juxtaposes pop splendor and soulful grit in a unique and powerful mix that extends from their two earlier, now out-of-print classics. The trio's lustrous synthesized orchestrations and clipped, largely midtempo grooves give Buchanan's reveries an expansive sweep that only makes sense after you've heard it. --Sam Sutherland
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