Scotland's finest all female folk quartet's fifth album, and their first since the departure of the incomparable Kate Rusby finds the girls in sparkling form with an album that positively shimmers and scintillates from the opening track "Tam" to the closing reel "Paddy." The highlight of a strong set is a stunning version of Lerner and Loewe's "Wouldn't it be Loverly" from My Fair Lady based on a half-remembered version by Rosanne Cash in which new Poozie, Eilidh Shaw steps up to the microphone for the first time. In an instant the memory of Rusby is swept away by a performance, which, is at once, both as desolate and as beautiful as a Hebridean island.
Shaw also brings a new dimension to the music with vibrant fiddle which perfectly complements the phenomenal playing of Karen Tweed (who is without doubt one of the finest exponents of the piano accordion on the planet), while Patsy Seddon and Mary MacMaster provide celestial support on a variety of acoustic and electric harps.
There's ne'er a dull moment as the Poozies borrow from the folk traditions of Sweden, Poland, Cape Breton, and Ireland to produce music which at times is as complex as it is beautiful. And it seems there's nothing these girls are afraid to tackle; they even have the nerve to sing in Polish on the haunting "Rosa."
The only misstep is "Throw the Ball" which is a well-intentioned but ultimately dissatisfying interpretation of Colum Sands' poignant call for peace in a troubled Belfast, "The Last House in our Street." But that's the only glitch, because there's much else here to admire and to wonder at; from the joyful Gaelic mouth-music at the end of 'Daniel's Potatoes' to the sweeping vocal harmonies of "Gertrude."
It's clear the ladies are enjoying themselves again after a four year break from recording together, and as a consequence they have produced one of the most eclectic, technically brilliant, and uniquely traditional recordings you're likely to hear this year.
4.5 tocks
