Emanating as they do from the county of Norfolk in England, you might be forgiven for describing Stömp as another band in the same mould as Fairport Convention. There are strong shades of Fairport, particularly on the vocal tracks -- and for my money, there is nought wrong with that! It makes damn good listening. So if you are fan of FC you might well like this band.

This is the second album from Stömp, who are still virtually new and relatively unknown on the folk circuit, despite appearing on a few festival guest lists. Although the album has 14 tracks, there are only three songs, which I thought was a pity, really, as they do sing quite well and the arrangements for the songs are very good. The album takes it title from a line in one of the songs called 'You Are Lobby Lud'. Back in the late 60's / 70's a daily news paper hit on a way to increase it circulation by printing a photo of just the eyes and nose of 'Lobby Lud' who would wander about the promenade of a different seaside town each day with a copy of the newspaper under his arm. If you accosted him and said "You are Lobby Lud ­ I claim my five pounds" and if you were correct, you won £5. (A lot of money in those days, when the average wage was only about £20 per week!)

The band is Martin Appleby on bass guitar and programming; Sheen Massonon on flute, English concertina, bombarde, whistle, fife, and vocals; Rob Gifford on drums, percussion, and acoustic guitar; Andrew King on electric, acoustic and tenor guitar, and vocals; Kevin Adams on violin, mandolin, electric and acoustic guitar, hammer dulcimer, VST synths and organ, plus vocals, joined by guest musicians Gareth Kiddier on piano and Anthony Gamage on cello.

I don't profess to be the font of all knowledge when it comes to a lot of tunes, but I know what I like, and the tunes here remind me a lot of Morris Dance tunes. They are nearly all traditional, but three are written by Sheena Masson. The tunes take on a style which is hard to define in any one statement, but it's true to say the arrangements have a strong feel of the Albion Country Dance Band of the early 70's, which I liked. Believe me, you won't find any of them boring. There's no album fodder here! This a good 'dance or not' album that kept me entertained from start to finish, and I can recommend it.

The second album reviewed here is from the Glencraig Scottish Dance Band. To quote from the sleeve notes: "There are many different styles of Scottish Dance (Ceilidh, Reeling, Scottish Country Dance and Old Time are just four of them) and each requires a different nuance from the music to compliment the dance. This is the challenge set every night for Scottish Dance Bands across the world, to select and arrange sets of tunes that not only fit the individual dance, but also suit the style of the dance of the evening." On this album that is exactly what you have: an album of various dance tunes as diverse as anything you could imagine, but in essence as Scottish as haggis and a fine single malt whisky. There are 17 tracks of jigs, reels, 4/4 march, polka, two-step, and even a sing-along reel that captures the atmosphere at a Scottish ceilidh dance.

The band has not one but two accordion players in Nicol McLaren and Neil Caul, so it is not surprising that they feature very strongly in the arrangements. The other band members are Gordon Howe on fiddle, Isobelle Hodgson on piano, John Sinton on double bass, and David Bell on drums. Truly, this is a real dance band. They have been around for over 20 years now and it shows in their performance. The highly informative booklet and sleeve notes that accompany the CD not only have details of the origin of the tunes, but also give information on how the dances go. The leader of the band takes the music very seriously and he says, "Remember, musicians require dancers just as much as dancers require musicians".

Considering, in my humble opinion, that this type of music is best sampled 'live' in the Highlands of Scotland, this CD still has lots of atmosphere and serves to remind me of many of my visits to northern Scotland and how unique the Highlands are.

The Glencraig band can be contacted via the Greentrax Records Web site.