ABC, Glasgow, 16 January 2009

Drever, McCusker, Woomble (photo - Alan Bearman Music)

THE conventional wisdom about concert audiences’ preference for familiar material was emphatically defied by a near-capacity turnout for this Celtic Connections show, a double bill of recently-formed Scottish outfits whose sole stock-in-trade is new original songs.

Admittedly, both have something of the supergroup about them, with the involvement of well-kent names from various musical genres giving the gig a broad and diverse fan-base to draw on, but it was nonetheless heartening to see so many prepared to take a punt on two largely unknown quantities.

The Burns Unit, admittedly, has a certain amount of form behind it, most of its eight members having come together originally through the 2006 Burnsong Song House project, a week-long songwriting retreat aimed at encouraging cross-genre collaborations, followed by a concert and subsequent tour.

Their Celtic Connections appearance, though, marked their inauguration as a fully-fledged band, with a debut album already in the works. The line-up comprises multi-award-winning songstress Karine Polwart, Fence Collective star Kenny Anderson, better known as King Creosote, former Delgados vocalist Emma Pollock, Asian/alternative luminaries MC Soom T and Future Pilot AKA, contemporary folk newcomer Kim Edgar, Canadian singer-songwriter Michael Johnston and drummer Mattie Foulds.

The creative chemistry between them was vividly apparent throughout, both in the songs themselves and in a superb ensemble performance: rarely will you witness eight musicians so evidently delighted to be sharing a stage.

Capitalising fully on the range of styles, skills and tastes at their disposal, they drew boldly but sure-handedly on influences as diverse as 1980s electro-pop, barrelhouse blues, bhangra rap, Weimar cabaret and brash guitar rock. The six singers in the line-up provided for seemingly infinite variety in the swapping about of lead and harmony roles, with nearly as much switching between instrumentation that included piano, electric and acoustic guitars, synth, accordion and melodica.

Yet while every number sounded entirely different from the last, there was nothing remotely scattershot or sprawling about the set: not only had the band clearly put in plenty of rehearsal time, but they were just as palpably united in, and inspired by, their shared creative purpose. Now roll on that album. . . .

The trio of singer-guitarist Kris Drever, multi-instrumentalist John McCusker and Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble, who opened the show, got together a year or back to try out writing songs together, presenting the results last autumn with the release of their album Before the Ruin, and an accompanying UK tour.

As before, they were accompanied here by Heidi Talbot, Boo Hewerdine and Kevin McGuire, on backing vocals, extra guitar and double bass. While the collaborative material again came across like the experimental folk/rock hybrid it is – for both good and ill – the arrangements had clearly benefited from their period of road-testing, sounding both tighter and richer than on their first unveiling, interspersed with some choice solo turns from each of the three main men.

© Sue Wilson, 2009

Links

• Celtic Connections