Barrule
Easy On The Records
Wardfell Records, EOTR02, £13.99
****
Tomas Callister, Jamie Smith and Adam Rhodes (plus half a dozen guest musos) lead this innovative charge into the music of the Isle of Man, and can all play very, very well on fiddle, piano box and bouzouki. The album vocals are split between accordionist Jamie and guest singer Greg Loughin, whose traditional She Lhong Honnick Mee is also offered as a free download on the Barrule website. The 13 tracks are a contemporary expression of the character of the separately evolving Manx musical identity, and are heavily laden with atmosphere and vitality – yet do not sound either Irish, Scots nor English. So, full marks to the funding by the Manx Heritage Foundation.
Norman Chalmers