Arriving just in time with the ever-growing pressure to go green comes Up With The Larks -- an album dedicated to telling stories about life, love and the increasing need to look out for the well-being of yourself, your loved ones and the Earth.

Combining the romantic, mellow richness of voices like Van Morrison and Rufus Wainwright with the storytelling tendency of rock poets Bruce Springsteen and Randy Newman, David Scott -- joined by a varying number of other artists over the years as The Pearlfishers-- pairs deep melodies with meaningful lyrics.

The Scottish born and bred Scott first plunged into his orchestral pop career as a Pearlfisher while a teen in Glasgow, where he wrote songs in between high school studies. After hits and misses with the major record labels and a short dabble in creating his own imprint, Scott finally settled down with indie-maker Marina Records.

Up With The Larks, Scott's sixth album under Marina, is yet another masterpiece in his long line of mellow, luminary recordings -- each showcasing contributions from a wide range of musical talent.

The title track, Up With The Larks , introduces a sentiment towards bright sunshiny days and the rotation of the Earth that creates them. With Eco Schools , the name alone begs listeners to see the importance of an eco-friendly existence "where we could learn to love the animals / and we could learn to smell the chlorophyll / and we could learn to save you all."

And if the words in that track aren't enough inspiration to try to lead a more fulfilling life, listen to Fighting Fire With Flowers and find out how to "fight fire with flowers / greet your killer with a kiss / when they call you down just say / there's no better day than this / wage the love of the world against the darkest powers / victory is easy when you're fighting fire with flowers."

From seductive strings to bouncy Beach Boy-esque beats (Brian Wilson takes the cake when it comes to Scott's biggest influences), The Pearlfishers sound flows vibrantly -- with some tracks so playful and enriching you'd think they were penned as happy-go-lucky theme songs to a modern day Growing Pains or Who's the Boss (for example, Send Me A Letter or With You On My Mind -- the track that most reminds me of a Randy Newman single).

Admittedly, while listening to this buoyantly uplifting album, my otherwise mediocre mood spun into a positive, go-save-the-world-from-bullies-and-polluters kind of mentality. He's been succesfully trudging through the waters of pop since the early eighties, and I hope -- for all of our sake -- Scott never stops.

Additional Tracks:
The Umbrellas Of Shibuya
I Just See The Rainbow