The Chair
Album: The Road To Hammer Junkie
Label: Self Released
Tracks: 11
Website: http://www.lovethechair.com/

It seems amazing that it was August 2009 when I saw Orkney octet The Chair at Shrewsbury Folk Festival as I remember their set as if it were only last year. The qualities that made it so memorable are evident on this their latest CD - superb playing from all 8 musicians and a wide variety of musical styles so that boredom never sets in - as I have to admit can occasionally happen to me when listening to Scottish or Irish instrumental music.

The opening set and first two tunes in the second set, whilst very enjoyable, are traditional in their approach and initially fooled me into thinking that maybe the band had eschewed the originality that they had displayed at Shrewsbury. Reassurance comes, however, with the funky breakdown in the traditional 'Miss Henny Mackenzie' reel and following the more conventional song 'The Hamars O'Syradale' we are off to the Basque country with Kepa Junkera's 'Bok Espok'. From then on the mixture of traditional and contemporary Scottish tunes (with some of the best being written by band members Gavin Firth and Brian Cromarty) are played with sufficient light and shade and rhythmic variation to hold the interest throughout. A couple of jaunts abroad are interspersed - one again to Spain for Anxo Pinto's 'Cancro Cru' and the other to Armenia and these serve further to add to the variety of the CD. A little bit of extra fun is added to the proceedings too with the tongue in cheek 'The Skatehorn Ceilidh Band' song.

'The Big Set' returns to the more traditional sounds of the earlier tracks completing a superb musical round trip. This is a CD that will undoubtedly be played often in this household and can thus be highly recommended!

Finally I should point out that although the CD is well packaged in a cardboard sleeve the detailed track and set listings on the inside cover are incorrect as highlighted by the band on their website. This is a little disappointing but probably more of a problem for reviewers than listeners!

Joe Grint