REVIEW FROM www.livingtradition.co.uk

 


 

 

 
MONSTER CEILIDH BAND - Make Me a Dancer

MONSTER CEILIDH BAND - Make Me a Dancer

Monster Ceilidh Band MCB001CD

Make Me a Dancer is the debut album from this energetic quartet from Newcastle . Although the duration is short for a CD, it certainly packs a wallop. This is not an album to put on if you want to chill out. Amy Thatcher on accordion, Carly Blain on fiddle, David de la Haye on electric bass and Kieran Szifris on mandocello create a powerful package of non-stop, dance-oriented tunes. Unusually they split the selections up by rhythm, so all the reels come first, then all the jigs. It works, in part because the tunes themselves are varied and the arrangements are well balanced. For instance ‘Dirty Bee’ by Ross Ainsley starts with power chords from the mandocello and the accordion and then a busy, tense melody from the fiddle that builds up into the release of the B section.

The way they play with dissonance is reminiscent of Penguin Cafe Orchestra on speed, it can be pretty intense. The split is about half original material, including three tracks by Ian Lowthian, and half traditional, including “The Pigtown Fling” the “Monaghan Jig”. The sound is surprisingly good considering it’s a DIY recording. If they squeeze this much vitality into a homemade recording, one can only imagine what they’re like at a ceilidh.

Elaine Bradtke

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This album was reviewed in Issue 84 of The Living Tradition magazine.