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Lau – Arc Light

 

Since the release of their debut album ‘Lightweights & Gentlemen’, Lau have gone on to be one of the finest traditional music groups in the UK; their mixture of songs and instrumentals along with a stunning live show have picked up fans far outside their native Scotland and won a brace of best live act gongs from the BBC Folk Awards in 2008 and 2009.

‘Arc Light’ is the true follow up to the debut (there was a live album from 2008 sandwiched in-between), and it’s on this new disc that the trio really show their potential – the instrumentals are unusual, the new songs a step up, and the overall air is one of a sophisticated and mature group of young musicians at their very best.

The trio of Kris Drever, Martin Green and Aidan O’Rourke provide almost all the instrumentation and vocals across the disc with only a few guests added, where their mixture of fiddle, accordion and acoustic guitar is augmented by backing vocals from Karine Polwart, Inge Thompson and Corrina Hewitt.

The main point to highlight about Lau is that while they are a traditional band, they do things in an untraditional way – the song structures and arrangements are quite a way from what you’d expect, with elements being brought in from outside of the folk movement giving them a distinctly contemporary feel.

There are some fantastic instrumentals here especially ‘Salty Boys’, ‘The Burrian’ and ‘Horizontigo’, and some real development shown in the songs of Kris Drever in ‘Winter Moon’ and ‘Banks of Marble’.

As a live act, Lau have firmly established themselves on the UK scene, and this studio album could well do the same for them as a recording group as it has the perfect balance of songs and tunes, and more importantly, it has variety that keeps the listener engaged throughout the 10 songs (55 minutes), which is real feat, and testament to the group and their arranging skills in particular.  An excellent album, highly recommended.

LAU - ARC LIGHT

Lau

CD (Cat No: 13461)

£12.99
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LAU - ARC LIGHT

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