Kris Drever & Éamonn Coyne
Album: Storymap
Label: Reveal
Tracks: 12
Website: http://www.revealrecords.co.uk

Not counting an EP released for last year's Celtic Connections, Storymap is the second collaborative album to be released by Éamonn and Kris, following some five years on from 2007's acclaimed Honk Toot Suite. But Storymap is a different animal altogether, with what might best be termed a distinctly polarised approach whereby its half-dozen purely instrumental tracks (tune-medleys) are complemented by three songs.

However, that somewhat plain-sounding menu description conceals an abundance of skill and dynamism; although each of the two musicians is already renowned for his contribution to a major group act (Éamonn with Treacherous Orchestra and Kris with Lau), their collaboration on this album is even-closer-knitted, radiating a keen warmth and a palpable sense of true enjoyment of each other's company that brings a joy-filled glow into the ears of the listener from the very first bar of the opening set of reels. I really don't need to comment that their musicianship is outstanding! And yet, happily, notwithstanding the level of virtuosity on display, the protagonists clearly feel no need (or desire) to rush onwards to reach the three-minute milepost; they both wear that virtuosity very easily indeed.

Maybe the "storymap" concept - of producing what are in essence stories in miniature mapped out over a portmanteau format - is a little stretched imaginatively, but the music tells its own story without resorting to any pretension, and each specific combination of tunes has been thought through carefully and makes a telling impact on its own terms. Whether it's the stirring, if mildly frenetic Marches And Reels set (track 3), the brilliant Teddy Bears' Picnic Jigs finale or the tour-de-force Goat Walk (on which the tender Mickey Finn's Air and a fine tune composed by Kris himself are finally ousted by the rabble-rousing Abe's Retreat), the various partnerships both material-wise and musician-wise are exemplarily judged. Another of the disc's instrumental high points is the fabulous penultimate track, Pot Luck, which shows just how much mileage can be got out of a simple duet on two guitars (six-string and tenor). Most of the tracks employ some guest musicians - notably Megan Henderson (fiddle and harmonium), Calum McIntyre (drums), Nico Bruce (double bass) and Eamonn Nugent (bodhrán).

But I really mustn't undersell the songs, each of which receives a standout vocal performance from Kris. His interpretation of May Morning Dew (which also features Megan's specially evocative fiddle playing) comes close to rivalling the treasurably intense reading from Sherburn & Bartley, and his passionate treatment of Isle De France also enables Éamonn to showcase what he calls his "electric-guitar-style-tremolo tenor guitar" (a wondrous texture, to be sure), while Farewell To Stromness brings in Eliza Carthy for a lovely, characterful harmony vocal.

The whole adds up to a marvellously clear-sighted and deeply engaging album, as much of a real treat for the listener as for the participants. Thanks, guys.

David Kidman