A proud daughter of the Scottish Hebrides islands, Julie Fowlis has made it her mission to bring the Scottish Gaelic music of her native land to the rest of the world. This album (pronounced “coolie,” meaning cache or secret hiding place) has won numerous accolades including the endorsement of Phil Selway from Radiohead. Although a multi-instrumentalist, Fowlis only sings on the album with the exception of one track on which she plays melodeon. The band behind her plays sparsely, sparingly and tastefully on guitar, bass, bouzouki and pipes, with piano on one long, stately ballad and ex-Nickel Creek mandolinist Chris Thiele providing some beautiful work on the album’s first two tracks.

To English-speaking ears, Scottish Gaelic has a tonguetwisting sound to it. Although lyrics are provided, along with English translations, it’s definitely not phonetic! Just hearing Fowlis sing on the faster numbers is impressive. The cd is a mix of traditional dance songs and ballads from across the decades, even the centuries. Fowlis sings in a gentle, attractive voice with a rustic, stoic edge – life where she and these songs come from is hard, and it’s reflected in the music. The humorous, sometimes nonsensical “mouth music” songs here are the funniest, including one in which a man shovels manure in his dun-colored trousers, possibly a more polite translation of the original Gaelic. Another recounts simply and forcefully how much its narrator enjoys potatoes with butter and local women – maybe at the same time? It’s left to the listener to decide.

The quieter numbers offer an intriguing window into the culture: a remarkably sad, stately love ballad written by the woman who eventually married Fowlis’ great-great-great-uncle; a bitter, true tale of returning World War I veterans who were denied benefits; an ancient-sounding, fawning tribute to a local warlord (no doubt written to induce his mercy), and the cd’s final cut, a brief a-capella call to run to the hills, armed, away from invaders. Unlike much of its subject matter, this is not a dramatic cd. It plays well in the background: it’s not hard to imagine an imaginative hostess at a SoHo bistro playing this over the PA, many of the customers eagerly inquisitive to know who might be singing as they settle up their checks. Live, Fowlis is undoubtedly more bracing. She plays Joe’s Pub on September 28 at 9:30, and in such an intimate setting, the songs – especially the dances – will undoubtedly energize the crowd.