SHOOGLENIFTY

Twenty-five years later, Shooglenifty offers us a ninth album, Acid Croft Vol 9. The band was formed in 1990 around musicians from the Highlands, Orkney and Edinburgh. Their original idea was to fuse traditional melodies with rhythms and bass lines, mixing influences from electronic to alternative rock. As enthusiastic on small village stages as they are at the biggest festivals, the Shoogle have been bringing Scottish music to life for three decades.

In 2015, as they celebrated their twenty-fifth anniversary, they welcomed puirt a beul or waulking song singer Kaela Rowan into their fold. Sadly in 2016 they lost their 'mad' fiddler, Angus R. Grant, eaten by the crab. And two years later they were joined by Eilidh Shaw (Donald Shaw's sister), herself trained on the fiddle by Angus' own father.

For thirty years they have been rocking and shaking the Scottish music scene. Acid Croft Vol 9 marks this anniversary. The first studio album without their star fiddler, this album is full of references to Angus. However, the new members' compositions are present while maintaining the innovative, wacky sound that has made the band so successful, without forgetting the Highland tradition.

The album features no less than six compositions by their new fiddler. She does a magnificent job of filling the creative void left by Angus, whose touch can be heard on Silence of the Trams. Alongside them, the mandolinist Ewan MacPherson signs seven tracks as well.

The instrumentals follow one another from the delicate Euphoricishness to the very energetic Black Dog and Brutus The Husky. The guitar, mandolin and banjo riffs and fiddle flights are powerfully supported by the percussion of James MacKintosh (a Capercaillie transfer). Kaela and Eilidh's vocals on a number of traditional songs are wonderful: Tìll an Crodh Laochain, Sùil a 'Ghobhair or An Robh Thu 'Sa Bheinn. Add to all this a magnificent cover and you have a recipe for success. 

Shoogle Music SHOOGLE20120 - www.shooglenifty.com