Rise Up

Award-winning Celtic five-piece The Outside Track have a strong pedigree for a band that live in different countries. They've got thousands of gigs and several studio albums under their belt, and for their fifth, Rise Up, the quintet (hailing from Ireland, Scotland and Cape Breton) step up a further gear, with a polished, stirring record that flies high like the bird on the record's cover. The image presumably refers to the theme of Rise Up; all the songs and dances here were written for, or about, women. This thematic thread knits together a diverse set of pieces.

Instrumental opener ‘Dark Reels’ (by harpist Ailie Robertson) morphs from a delicate harp theme to a rip-roaring whirligig of a dance. Broadside ballad ‘The Banks of Sweet Dundee’ flows like a cool river and features one of many wonderful vocal performances by Teresa Hogan, whose burnished voice often send shivers down the spine. Hogan's flute-playing is also a stand-out feature on Rise Up, intertwining with Mairi Rankin's fiddle with sparkling results. The Outside Track also skilfully blend traditional and contemporary styles of arrangement and performance. As on ‘Dark Reels’, closing tune ‘Lady Diamond’ carries a heavier bass sound that adds to the drama but manages not to overwhelm the music.