Fourth Moon

Ellipsis

Fourth Moon Records

WINNER of the Musician of the Year title at the recent BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards and former BBC Radio Scotland Young Musician of the Year, concertina player Mohsen Amini joins three fellow young players in Glasgow-based Fourth Moon.

As with other groups Amini has featured with, such as the admirable Talisk and Imar, energy and vitality, as well as strong musical capabilities, are the watch words here. Even at their most reflective the fiddle of David Lombardi, Geza Frank’s flute and whistle, Jean Damei’s guitar and Amini’s concertina sing with a life force that’s just busting to break into full-on celebration.

The tunes on these ten sets are strong and the arrangements are geared towards making the most of these melodies, with thought to texture, tone and tempo that can call to mind a chamber music group in terms of sound quality and tonal range.

The opening Glasgow Roaster sets the pace with lots of flavour in the execution of a fizzing pair of tunes and the nimble Olympus and Celestial’s swashbuckling unison attack are stand-outs but only comparatively as the overall quality of the album is consistent and repays repeated listening.

Rob Adams