SUNTRAP

"Sweet Fast River"

Own Label

Although it's six or seven years ago since I first discovered Suntrap, via an impressive appearance on BBC Radio 4's "Loose Ends", I still regularly play and enjoy their debut CD, "Long Winter Coat" so it was a pleasure to receive this, their third release.

The original trio of Sara Byers, Paul Hoad and Mary Wilson is now a quartet, with the addition of Nicola Hillary and, although a good proportion of their material is penned by Sara or Paul, they've rather cleverly also included a mix of songs, both traditional and contemporary, which sit extremely well alongside their own.

Anyone new to their work, or even new to folk music, would likely have a hard task deciding which was the original material and which came from other sources.

Instrumentally, they're spot on with their arrangements, with the emphasis mainly on guitar and fiddle, but with some effective use of accordion, piano, harmonica, viola and whistles, whilst the vocal harmonies are noticeably smoother than on their first release.

The recording quality is crisp and clear and you'll by now have gathered that I liked this album a lot.  You can see Suntrap at the Horsham Folk Club on September 3rd. (JM) (www.suntrap.org)