Beyond Talisk Records (42 mins)

Songlines ★★★★★

Fresh from a well-deserved win of the 2018 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’ Musician of the Year award for concertina player Mohsen Amini, Talisk release their second album. And what a cracker it is too. There is a remarkably powerful sound from the trio, which includes Hayley Keenan on fiddle and Graham Armstrong on guitar. The eight self-penned tracks take as their inspiration all the places the band have visited over the last couple of years. ‘Montreal’ is a foot-stamping, blistering opener whilst ‘Cabot Trail’ is a beautifully sweeping and pounding evocation of the North American landscape.

‘Rations’ is a sweaty duet between fiddle and concertina, with some tasty pounding guitar; while title-track ‘Beyond’ hints at rich promises still to come, via energetic and unexpected rhythms. Talisk also bring a remarkable guest-list on ‘Farewell’: Breabach, Skerryvore, Tide Lines and We Banjo 3 are among many others joining the band on vocals. There is a wide-eyed enthusiasm here for all things traditional and a burgeoning excitement at where the band is heading which is incredibly infectious and endearing. Fresh, invigorating, accomplished and playfully frisky: this is a wonderful release.

Billy Rough