In the Shadow of Stromboli

Reel magic in the form of ‘Rockin the Boat’, a rollicking instrumental set of three tunes from Galway and Québec, sets off this fine album from the London-based quartet. Scottish fiddler Jamie Smith, Irish accordionist Colette O’Leary, London Irish banjo player Brian Kelly and Dorset guitarist and singer Alex Percy have performed together for almost five years. Their second album, recorded with guests including Martin O’Neill on bodhrán and electric guitarist Barry Reid, features tunes of Irish, Scottish, French-Canadian, Galician and Québéçois descent.

The result is a powerful Celtic synergy of reels, airs, old-time tunes and that fast, silvery group play that makes their music such an intoxicating experience. ‘Solace and Joy’ has a plumb-line of a bass part hitting the deeper emotional centres, and comes from a book of 19th century lyrics found in an antiquarian bookshop in Brighton. It’s paired with a fiddler’s reel, ‘Beautiful Gortree’, and a similarly emotive bass line features on ‘Come By The Hills, a 1960s lyric attached to a much older melody. Such fruitful pairings are scattered throughout this fine set, mixed with the likes of Colette O’Leary’s ‘Reflections’, a slow, lovely paean for piano and accordion, drawn from the landscape around Lochcarron in the Highlands. The title song, ‘Stromboli’ is also drawn from the band’s experiences – the band played a festival in Calabria and took a boat across the Tyrrhenian Sea to view the volcanic spume of airs from Stromboli – and is paired to a tune inspired by the Brecon Beacons. This refashioning of the Celtic world map in sound is as beautifully ornamented as a fine piece of jewellery.