Frontman and songwriter Sandy Brechin played traditional accordion from his albums ‘Out of his Head’ and ‘Out of his Tree’, with backing from cajon, guitar, bass guitar, and whistle. Brechin’s tunes were all instrumental. The set was diversified when Andrew Mill came forward to sing a few of his own songs that had pop-song structure and lead vocals. Mill opened the tracks as a guitarist and singer and the band slowly built up around him.
It was a relaxed affair and there was a warm friendly feel to the event, akin to a gig in a village where everyone knows one another - an apt atmosphere for a Sunday night. The accordion-player warned at the beginning that although he was in his forties, this wasn’t going to stop him behaving like an adolescent; He was right. He managed to command the conversation in the room with a warm presence, from talking about his experiences playing accordion over 20 years to mocking other band mates jokingly, whilst drinking his cider.
The set was good, with the whistle and accordion playing exceptionally well. One moment saw the whistle player introduce a slower tune after a sequence of Irish jigs. It was haunting and beautiful to listen to and emphasised the beauty of Scottish folk music, sounding sparse and delicate.
However, there was a slight imbalance in the band’s sound that let the set down. The acoustic guitar was not plugged into an amp whereas the electric bass was and all the other instruments are naturally loud in their acoustic form. Consequently, the acoustic guitar was drowned out except on occasions when the guitarist brought his tunes to the front of the stage. This may have been intentional because the guitar was softly embellishing the rhythm but personally I felt that it could have been slightly louder without taking away from the accordion and whistle that led the melody.
What the band can be assured of is that they played well, demonstrating professionalism within their field and a strong ability to charm the crowd. These were good ambassadors of the traditional Scottish music scene.
