It may have been a challenge for James Yorkston to follow up 2008’s When the Haar Rolls In with another record of original material. (2009’s Folks Songs is comprised of covers.) He was wrestling personal issues, and, truth be told, Haar was a tough act to follow. Yet I Was a Cat from a Book—with its title taken from a feverish dream his ill daughter experienced—confidently extends Yorkston’s intimate folk-based music into new and diverse territories. “Catch” swirls with jazzy piano and airy percussion, and “Kath with Rhodes” is a gorgeous duet with Kathryn Williams that simmers softly with the warm textures of a Rhodes piano. “Border Song” is a boisterous pub rager, reined in by Yorkston’s careful lyrical tongue-lashing, while “I Can Take All This” comes off like a questioning spiritual rant, with Yorkston’s word-tumbling deftness moving at mach speed. Most other tunes are of the unhurried, quiet variety, with standouts like the wistful “A Short Blues” and the harrowing “The Fire & the Flames” feeling like breath-holding exercises; Yorkston’s pained, hushed tone recalls Nick Drake while filigreed acoustic guitar notes make a vain attempt at lightness.