Arnish Light

Scottish band The Tannahill Weavers have been on the go for over thirty years now, and if they’d sounded a tad jaded on their sixteenth album you could have forgiven them. Happily, no such concessions are necessary: whether they’re blasting through full-spate Highland pipe-driven instrumentals or joining in rich harmony on great old songs like ‘Cam Ye By Athol’ and ‘Lassie Wi’ The Lintwhite Locks’, the energy doesn’t falter. One-man string quartet John Martin plays fiddle, viola and cello to particularly nice effect on ‘Romy Therese/Tune For Mary’; also notable is singer/guitarist Roy Gullane’s sweet original ‘The Rose Amang The Thorn’ (“Despite rumours and scurrilous mumblings to the contrary, Scots are still writing love songs,” the liner notes point out). Helpfully, there’s a glossary of Scots dialect terms at the back of the booklet.