Lau Album Launch for 'Lightweights & Gentlemen'

*****

album released under Reveal Records, launched at The Bongo Club, Edinburgh

See lau-music.co.uk

also see reveal-records.com

Review by Frank Burkitt

On possibly the coldest day of the year so far, we gathered in the smoking area of the Bongo club in anticipation of what was hyped up to be a stunning album launch. As more and more familiar faces arrived, they all had smiles like kids at Christmas. I was more than intrigued as I was a Lau virgin!

Sipping my free bottle of Cobra, very slowly I might add, I was impressed and a little bit envious of their professionalism. Piles of beautifully made CDs and Vinyls, and no less than a power point presentation. Money and time had been spent organising this gig.

On to the music however. Martin Green on the Accordion was like a man possessed. His whole body played that instrument and as a result, it sounded like he had a whole band between his piston like arms. He looked like a nodding dog on speed as he pounded out amazing reels, unbelievable bass lines and melodies quicker than his head flicks. He was fantastic.

Aidan O’Rourke on fiddle was equally impressive. A little more reserved in physical movement than his colleague, his fiddle sang to my ears. The instrumental numbers saw him start slow and then build to an unparalleled climax. I actually wanted to dance despite having only one free beer.

And then there was Kris Drever. Undoubtedly a great guitarist with a sense of rhythm unlike any other, what's more it looked effortless. He was creating massive sound with, what looked like, minimum effort. However, I felt no real connection with the subject matter of Kris's 2 songs, though that wasn't helped by the fact that I couldn't hear the lyrics more often than not. I did thoroughly enjoy the night and I doubt I will witness such an amazingly unified sound by another band for a long time.

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