Lau | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Named after an Orcadian word meaning "natural light" (though they deliberately misspelled it from "lowe"), Lau formed in Edinburgh in 2006 and were quickly hailed as a band of rare innovation and invention. The three founders, Aidan ORourke, Kris Drever, and Martin Green, were all much admired musicians in their own right, widely experienced playing in various disparate bands, but in all cases Lau represents their most challenging and satisfying musical advance in a band set up as a deliberate antidote to the legions of hyperactive jigs n reels outfits backed by drum and bass found all over Scotland. Introducing unusual rhythms, jazz influences, and a certain amount of improvisation, they created a subtly provocative style of arrangements and tune-playing basically not heard before in the folk circles they mostly frequented. They met on the vibrant Edinburgh session scene where jazz musicians also congregated and there was much spontaneous crossover between jazz and folk. ORourke, an explosive fiddle player from Seil off the west coast of Scotland, first went on the road at 15, becoming a member of Blazing Fiddles and at the age of 19 formed Tabache with Claire Mann. He also became a member of Unusual Suspects and fusion band Kevin Mackenzies Vital Signs, made his first solo album, Sirius, in 2003, and formed Sunhoney with Donald Hay and Alyth McCormack, mixing trad tunes with jazz and hip-hop. Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2005 Scottish Traditional Music Awards, ORourke had already played on over 50 albums before resolving to start a new band with Drever and Green. The son of Ivan Drever of folk-rock band Wolfstone, Kris Drever had also built a big reputation since leaving his home in the Orkneys for Edinburgh, his intuitive guitar style and laid-back singing becoming a feature of various outfits, and hed already recorded his debut solo album, Black Water, when Lau got underway. English accordion player Martin Green is from Cambridge, built his own reputation as a dazzling, live-wire box player in bands like Whiskey Before Breakfast and the Joe Townsend Band, and spent several years with Eliza Carthys band, including a duet album Dinner, with Carthy in 2001. A move to Scotland to be with his girlfriend introduced him to the Edinburgh session scene and facilitated the formation of Lau. After several months of dedicated rehearsal in ORourkes kitchen, putting together a set of all original tunes, they made their debut with gigs at the Leith Folk Club and Edinburgh Festival in 2006. The empathetic interplay and unexpected twists in their music made them an instant hit, partly because nobody -- not even the bandmembers -- knew exactly what theyd do next. "Nothing is purely improvised but there are certain tracks with a designated window to allow improvisation," said ORourke. "It can be a big window or a little window depending on the gig." Their debut album, Lightweights & Gentlemen, a mix of their own tunes and unusual interpretations of songs like "Freeborn Man" and "Unquiet Grave," was released early in 2007 to great acclaim, though everyone -- including each of the bandmembers -- has struggled to find a phrase that would accurately describe the music. One review describing the music as "sublime, anarchic modern folk music" perhaps captured their spirit best. Around the same time, all three members of Lau also founded the experimental left-field band Parallelogram. The following year the trio released Live. Capturing a performance at the Bongo Club, Edinburgh, at the end of 2007, the album served as a companion piece to their debut and featured live renditions of many of the tracks. 2009 saw the trio release their sophomore studio album, Arc Light. Once again, they pushed the boundaries of contemporary, modern folk music while also ending the album with a unique take on the Beatles "Dear Prudence." Self-released EPs with Karine Polwart and Adem appeared in the next two years before the trio returned with their third studio album, Race the Loser, in 2012. For their fourth album, the trio headed to Castlesound Studios in Scotland, with Joan Wasser (better known as Joan as Police Woman) in the producers chair. The resulting The Bell That Never Rang, appeared mid-2015. Celebrating ten years since their first release, the trio issued the career retrospective, Decade: The Best of 2007-2017. They also headed out on tour in support of the release, playing a selection of tracks from their back catalog. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 11 Title: Lightweights & Gentlemen Released: 2007-03-12 Tracks: 11 Duration: 58:37 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Hinba: Hinba / Funny Weather (05:08) 2 Butcher Boy (04:07) 3 The Jigs: Mattie and Karines / The Lau Jig / The Crèche Jig (04:53) 4 Results: Come on Wee Man! / Waiting for the Results (04:38) 5 Unquiet Grave (05:14) 6 The Lang Set: Souter Creek: The Dog and the Rabbit / A Dog Called Bran / Souter Creek (06:19) 7 The Lang Set: Kriss: Alyths / Muckle Moose on the Muin (06:30) 8 Freeborn Man (03:42) 9 Moorhens: The Moorhens / Rick Taylor’s / A Tune for Emily Ball (04:17) 10 Gallowhill (06:09) 11 Twa Stewarts: Auld Stewart / Young Stewart / Last Weeks Efforts (07:36) |
| Lightweights & Gentlemen : Allmusic album Review : LAU are something of a young Scottish supergroup, a trio consisting of guitarist and vocalist Kris Drever, accordionist Martin Green, and fiddler Aidan ORourke. All three have made names for themselves as both sidemen to the stars and as solo or duo artists. Their first album as a trio is a bracing blend of traditional and modern elements -- the reel and jig sets have a traditional form but all consist of modern compositions by one or another of the musicians in the band, and most of them (notably ORourkes "Hinba" and Drevers slightly jazzy "Waiting for the Results") have a melodic edginess to them that speaks of impatient youth and of a talent that wants to push the boundaries of tradition. Greens "Come on Wee Man!" accomplishes the same goal by simply jumping cultures, evoking Europe and maybe Latin America as well. Drever distinguishes himself on a stately and splendid rendition of Ewan MacColls "Freeborn Man." Near the end of the album things bog down a bit -- the instrumental "Gallowhill" and the "Twa Stewarts" set are both a bit enervated, at least until the final tune of that last set kicks in and blows the cobwebs away. Recommended overall. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 11 Title: Live Released: 2008-04-28 Tracks: 9 Duration: 1:01:24 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Stewarts (08:00) 2 Banks of Marble (04:44) 3 Frank and Flos (05:00) 4 Butcher Boy (04:22) 5 Sea (06:19) 6 The Lang Set (14:42) 7 Unquiet Grave (05:14) 8 Hinba (05:50) 9 Gallowhill (07:09) |
| Live : Allmusic album Review : Scots trio Lau attracted a lot of attention with their studio debut, and this live follow-up shows they can certainly deliver the goods. It does, though, highlight their strengths as well as their weaknesses. Theyre at their best instrumentally, with fiddle and accordion in particular absolutely superb, ducking and diving together or around each other. Where they dont score quite as high -- although theyre still very good -- is on the vocals. Kris Drever is an adequate, but not great, singer, who doesnt always put across the emotional content of his material -- that said, he does a fabulous job on "Unquiet Grave." But instrumentally, Lau have few peers, theyre willing to take chances and veer into moments of sublime dissonance before diving headlong back into a tune. The centerpiece is "The Lang Set," a selection of tunes that showcases their abilities and interaction in an almost perfect manner. The music is original, but very influenced by the Scots tradition, and they round the night out perfectly with the slow, moving "Gallowhill," an air that carries breathlessly into the night. Once they get the vocals sorted out properly, Lau will be worldbeaters. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 11 Title: Arc Light Released: 2009-03-30 Tracks: 10 Duration: 55:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 The Burrian (06:39) 2 Winter Moon (03:22) 3 Horizontigo / Alright in the Heid (07:16) 4 Operation Knoydart / Salty Boys (05:53) 5 Banks of Marble (04:39) 6 Stephens Leaving / Plot no. 12 (07:05) 7 The Master (04:22) 8 Frank and Flos / An Tobar (04:47) 9 Temple of Fiddes (06:38) 10 Dear Prudence (04:29) |
| Arc Light : Allmusic album Review : On their third outing, Lau confirm theyre anything but a flash in the pan, and in fact one of the most exciting acts in folk music at the moment. That they carry a special instrumental sparkle is apparent from the instrumental opener, "The Burrian," which hangs moodily like a mix of traditional Scottish folk and Mazzy Stars languor. Vocally theyre fine, too, and songs like "Winter Moon" and "The Master" show the quality of the arrangements, spare yet superbly effective. Virtually all the material here comes from their own pens, the exception being a cover of "Dear Prudence" that captures the dreaminess of the original but gives it an intimacy and immediacy that distinguishes this version. This is a band that performs with both passion and grace as the accordion, guitar, and fiddle weave in and around each other with something close to telepathy. Stirring and utterly wonderful. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 11 Title: Evergreen Released: 2010 Tracks: 5 Duration: 22:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Evergreen (04:09) 2 January Man (04:01) 3 Midnight Feast (03:43) 4 From Rags to Riches (04:15) 5 Lord Yester (06:07) |
 | Album: 5 of 11 Title: Ghosts EP Released: 2011 Tracks: 7 Duration: 35:03 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Farewell to Whisky Chess (09:33) 2 Imporsa (07:47) 3 Ghosts (04:32) 4 Happy Sevens (01:06) 5 Mr. Timony (05:50) 6 Jargonaut (03:32) 7 Last Ghost Alive (02:43) |
 | Album: 6 of 11 Title: Race the Loser Released: 2012-09 Tracks: 9 Duration: 44:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Saint Monday (05:20) 2 Far From Portland (07:51) 3 The Bird That Winds the Spring (04:12) 4 Missing Pieces (00:38) 5 Save the Bees (05:27) 6 Torsa (06:59) 7 Throwing Pennies (04:27) 8 Noltland Castle (04:37) 9 Beer Engineer (05:17) |
 | Album: 7 of 11 Title: Lightweights & Gentlemen / Live Released: 2012-11-19 Tracks: 22 Duration: 2:18:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Hinba: Hinba / Funny Weather (05:08) 2 Butcher Boy (04:07) 3 The Jigs: Mattie and Karines / The Lau Jig / The Crèche Jig (04:53) 4 Results: Come on Wee Man! / Waiting for the Results (04:38) 5 Unquiet Grave (05:14) 6 The Lang Set: Souter Creek: The Dog and the Rabbit / A Dog Called Bran / Souter Creek (06:19) 7 The Lang Set: Kriss: Alyths / Muckle Moose on the Muin (06:30) 8 Freeborn Man (03:42) 9 Moorhens: The Moorhens / Rick Taylor’s / A Tune for Emily Ball (04:17) 10 Gallowhill (06:09) 11 Twa Stewarts: Auld Stewart / Young Stewart / Last Weeks Efforts (07:36) 12 The Lang Set (2011 version) (14:10) 1 Stewarts (08:00) 2 Banks of Marble (04:44) 3 Frank and Flos (05:00) 4 Butcher Boy (04:22) 5 Sea (06:19) 6 The Lang Set (14:42) 7 Unquiet Grave (05:14) 8 Hinba (05:50) 9 Gallowhill (07:09) 10 Basil (04:20) |
 | Album: 8 of 11 Title: [Remixed] Released: 2013-10 Tracks: 8 Duration: 46:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Torsa (05:39) 2 The Bird That Winds the Spring (04:08) 3 Saint Monday (vocal mix) (07:30) 4 Throwing Pennies (06:35) 5 Imporsa (05:53) 6 The Bird That Winds the Spring (03:54) 7 Torsa (05:05) 8 Saint Monday (instrumental mix) (07:31) |
 | Album: 9 of 11 Title: The Bell That Never Rang Released: 2015-05-04 Tracks: 6 Duration: 43:53 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 First Homecoming (04:38) 2 The Death of the Dining Car (04:39) 3 Back in Love Again (06:44) 4 Tiger Hill (Armoured Man) (06:02) 5 The Bell That Never Rang (17:00) 6 Ghosts (04:47) |
 | Album: 10 of 11 Title: Decade: The Best of Lau 2007 - 2017 Released: 2017-06-16 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:22:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Unquiet Grave (05:14) 2 Hinba: Hinba / Funny Weather (05:08) 3 Gallowhill (06:09) 4 The Lang Set (2011 version) (14:10) 5 Winter Moon (03:22) 6 Horizontigo / Alright in the Heid (07:16) 7 The Burrian (06:39) 8 Lord Yester (06:07) 9 Far From Portland (07:51) 10 Throwing Pennies (04:27) 11 Torsa (06:59) 12 First Homecoming (04:38) 13 Ghosts (04:47) |
 | Album: 11 of 11 Title: Midnight and Closedown Released: 2019-02-08 Tracks: 8 Duration: 45:11 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Dont Want to Die Here (04:57) 2 She Put on Her Headphones (03:15) 3 Toy Tigers (05:38) 4 Echolalia (07:13) 5 Its Hard to Seem to Be OK When Youre Not (05:43) 6 Dark Secret (05:54) 7 Return to Portland (07:10) 8 Riad (05:21) |