The National Jazz Trio of Scotland has more than three members, and they don't really play jazz; however, they do offer an imaginative and intelligent take on pop music, anchored by the spare yet evocative keyboards and electronics of founding member Bill Wells and the simple but ethereal vocals of Lorna Gilfedder, Kate Sugden, and Aby Vulliamy. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist who has worked with Phantom Engineer, Future Pilot A.K.A., Aidan Moffat, and Isobel Campbell, Wells first launched the National Jazz Trio of Scotland project as a collaboration with vocalists Gilfedder, Sugden, and Vulliamy, blending their elemental but effective harmonies to Wells' minimalist soundscapes. Wells first used the moniker in 2007, when he recorded a track with Chris Beans Geddes of Belle and Sebastian titled "Boomkat" that was released under the name the National Jazz Trio of Scotland with Beans. As Wells and his vocalists began exploring the possibilities of their combo, they recorded an album's worth of material that was circulated on a privately distributed CD-R edition as Standards, Vol. I, though true to the band's contrary ways, Wells wrote most of the material himself. The group's first proper release came in 2012, when they brought out a collection of classic holiday-themed songs interpreted in their own distinct style, The National Jazz Trio of Scotland's Christmas Album, which included contributions from Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub and artwork by Jad Fair. With an additional four musicians joining in, the combo released their second album, Standards, Vol. II, in 2013, and less than a year later, the NJToS returned to their trademark stripped-down sound on their third full-length release, Standards, Vol. III (which once again was written mostly by Wells, though it did include a cover of the Beach Boys' "With Me Tonight"). After a four-year break, the group returned with Vol. IV. The first of a proposed series of albums focusing on a single lead vocalist, this one was sung almost entirely by Sugden. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi