Labelled as ‘Scottish nu-folk’ that doesn’t even come close to adequately describing the band – they are uniquely Scottish and come broadly from the folk tradition, but they have as much in common, (and probably more) with the settings, biting lyrics and black humour of Elvis Costello and Loudon Wainwright as they do the thoughtful storytelling and delivery of modern Scottish folk acts such as Karine Polwart and Emily Smith.
The core of the band is Napier on vocals and guitar, Gillian Frame adding fiddle and vocals and Douglas Millar providing keyboards – the trio are joined by James Lindsay (Breabach) on bass, and percussion from Scott MacKay. It’s a flexible range of instruments and players that allow them to move from driving full-on songs through to considered acoustic arrangements with ease.
The album is melody led and full of irresistible hooks that capture your attention on the first listen, but the real meat is in the lyrics – this is storytelling and character portraits of the highest order from the lovesick librarian in the title track through to the lovestruck/dumbstruck magician in ‘Cutting her in Two’ the observations are sharp, full of warmth and honest. It’s obvious that Findlay and his writing partner Nick Turner are quite a team as the quality is maintained throughout with the range of songs on offer, and it all ends on a beautiful song by Frame that sums the album perfectly with instant melodies and deep lyrics.
Once again, Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers have come up with a stunning album; forget the label of Scottish nu-folk, this is an album of real quality in every area and it deserves to be heard. Not to be missed.
Read the review and have a browse about Fish Records here.
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