A Delicate Game

Comprising singer Claire Hastings, pianist Tina Jordan Rees, fiddler Gráinne Brady and Heather Downie on clarsach (harp), Top Floor Taivers’ debut album A Delicate Game is a beautifully produced one, with inspiration found from English and Irish but mainly Scottish traditional music. There is certainly something reminiscent of The Shee or perhaps even The Staves here – especially on the harmonies of ‘Princess Rosanna’, a cover of a track by Findlay Napier.

A Delicate Game consists mainly of covers, including a rather breezy interpretation of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Everybody Knows’, while their rendition of Richard Thompson’s ‘1952 Vincent Black Lightning’ is slightly too saccharine given its subject matter. More successful is ‘Ramblin’ Rover’, a confident interpretation of Andy M Stewart’s classic. But the strength of the album lies in the self-penned tracks. ‘Jeannie and the Spider’ is a frisky piece of satire while ‘Campfires’ is a beautiful little slice of romantic nostalgia. Concluding track ‘10 Little Men’ turns a nursery rhyme on its head with its dark and atmospheric arrangement. A Delicate Game is a sweet album and one that demonstrates much promise.