Isobel Campbell

Cellist and founding member of Scottish indie heroes Belle and Sebastian, Isobel Campbell left the band in 2002 after recording two low-key solo albums under the moniker The Gentle Waves. Full of lonesome balladry and folksy, dark skied melancholy, she released Amorino (2003) and Milkwhite Sheets (2006) under her own name before teaming up with Mark Lanegan from former grunge band Screaming Trees. It proved a masterstroke, with Campbell's sweet, angelic vocals contrasting with Lanegan's deep, guttural growl over alt. country lullabies on the brilliant Mercury Prize nominated album Ballad of the Broken Seas (2006). The partnership has continued on the acclaimed Sunday at Devil Dirt (2008) and Hawk (2010) and the duo remain an intriguing mix of butter-wouldn't-melt, twee, Scottish innocence and gravel-voiced, road weary, tattooed, rock'n'roll grizzle. Nearly fifteen years after Milkwhite Sheets, the musician picked up the thread of her personal career with the album There Is No Other... (2020), followed four years later by Bow to Love, featuring a special two-album edition with French versions of the songs.