Rare

The title of the new recording by this Scottish quintet is appropriate, seeing as it’s only the fourth album they’ve made since their inception in the late '70s. Mind you, they did officially ‘retire’ between 1983 and 1995, with some of the members going on to found The Easy Club. Judging by this splendid collection of songs and tunes, it’s a good thing they got back together again.
Unlike many Scottish acts, they don’t stick exclusively to the speedier side of the spectrum on the instrumentals: a lovely rendition of the air ‘Coire Mhic Fhearchair’ leads into a couple of jigs taken at a delightfully jaunty pace, with fiddle and baritone fiddle doubling up on the octaves, and then into an easygoing reel.
Singer Rod Paterson does a fine job on the six vocal numbers here, the lyrics of which are helpfully explicated in a glossary in the CD booklet.