The Night Out

The Night Out is the debut album of this Southampton-based quartet, whose music is firmly rooted in the English and Irish folk traditions and features guitar, fiddle and bodhrán with the unusual addition of clarinet. Judging by the cover art and the choice of material, Monkey See Monkey Do seem a lively, fun-loving bunch, with a suitably salty repertoire, from the tale of a wicked pirate called ‘Alexander the Great’ to ‘The Drunken Sailor’ (yes, that famous drunk who poses such a quandary ear-ly in the morning).

The clarinet blends well with the more conventional instrumentation, particularly on tracks like ‘The Night Out & the Hangover’ and ‘Superfly’ (which is apparently unconnected with Curtis Mayfield’s funk-soul hit of the same title). Monkey See Monkey Do demonstrate how well they play together as a unit on the reels that make up ‘The A & E Tunes’ and in their full­bodied rendition of ‘Farewell to Erin’. With only eight tracks this album is a fast-moving but thoroughly enjoyable selection of songs and dance tunes.