Finn Collinson (this page) suffers a little, I thought anyway, for being restrained but this accordion-based (actually a melodion, argue among yourselves about the difference) album from Churchill-Moss and fiddler Sweeney benefits from the same restraint, which can be uplifting or calming without change overmuch.
What is surprising is how well they go together, and half the time you have to remember a violin is there.
It works for several reasons: the melodion has a warm sound – not for the nothing was the accordion used for the theme of “Last of the Summer Wine” – but the album also doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is. It’s good playing, sure, but he does nothing showy.
Unlike the Collinson album, this has no theme: it opens with “For Frans” (I tried to shoehorn in an Only Frans joke but couldn’t make it work), then “Mollai’s Bodhran,” which are almost dance tunes. “Speckles of Yellow” is slower and with a Celtic feel.
It’s an EP and six tracks is about enough. “The Magician’s Look”, five tracks in, can be tranquil or slightly annoying noodling, depending on your mood, although closer “The Harrier’s Hawk” is lively and sends everyone home smiling.
If you’re after dramatic reinventions, this is not it; it’s just trad duo playing some old-fashioned tunes.
See moyasweeneyarchiemoss.bandcamp.com
JMC
