The most musically adventurous trio in British folk team up with Tucker Martine, the US producer who has worked with REM and Gillian Welch, and the results are perhaps predictably unexpected. Lau are a remarkable band, particularly live, thanks to their stirring, complex, partly improvised compositions and the virtuoso interplay between fiddle, accordion and guitar. The new element here is electronic music: it is used to create percussive effects that are matched against their instrumental work on the ambient Far from Portland (a tribute to Martine's home city), or against Kris Drever's vocals on the sturdy Saint Monday, one of several songs dealing with industrial decay and hard times. But as ever with Lau, the mood constantly changes. Save the Bees switches from sombre to cheerful and back, while Torsa is a gentle, then upbeat example of Lau's exquisite and hypnotic musicianship at its best.
01 - Saint Monday.mp3
02 - Far From Portland.mp3
03 - The Bird That Winds The Spring.mp3
04 - Missing Pieces.mp3
05 - Save The Bees.mp3
06 - Torsa.mp3
07 - Throwing Pennies.mp3
08 - Noltland Castle.mp3
09 - Beer Engineer.mp3
Kris Drever - guitar, vocals
Martin Green - accordion
Aidan O'Rourke - fiddle