Polly Paulusma announces 21st anniversary reissue of Scissors In My Pocket

The 21st anniversary edition pairs the original 11-track record with five bonus recordings from the same period. Three – “Orion’s Belt”, “Two Stars”, and “Leave Your Keys” – previously appeared as B-sides during the album’s 2004 single campaign, while “My Errant Knight” and “Pentecostosis” are issued for the first time.

Paulusma recorded and produced much of Scissors In My Pocket alone in the garden shed behind her South London home during 2003. Some tracks were later revisited in professional studios, while others kept the original performances.

The reissue also carries artwork by Paulusma’s mother, portrait painter Louise Riley-Smith, who created the cover and individual illustrations for each song. Riley-Smith died in June this year. Her charcoal portrait of Paulusma remains on the cover.

“Orion’s Belt”, written as the Iraq War began, addresses what Paulusma calls Weltschmerz – “world-pain” – and the contradictions of witnessing conflict from a place of comfort. “I wish I could tell you that a song which shows miles away some people suffering acutely while I sip rosé in gemütlich comfort is hopelessly anachronistic,” she says. “But sadly it feels even more relevant in our modern world.”

“Two Stars” was written after the miscarriage of Paulusma’s first pregnancy, described as “a letter to my first unborn child”. “My Errant Knight” transforms anxiety over her father’s heart attack into medieval imagery, while “Pentecostosis” has gained new meaning since her bipolar diagnosis. “The dragon asleep on the shed is my creativity,” she says, “but also can be seen as an early manifestation of my understanding of my own bipolar disorder.”

“Leave Your Keys” closes the bonus set and remains a live favourite. “Entrances and exits were never my forte,” Paulusma recalls of the opening line. “This song has some hardy fans, who always request it. I’m glad it’s getting a little turn around the floor again.”