Caledonian country with a Celtic twist in the tail.

Release Date: 26th April 2024

Label: BMB Records

Format: CD / digital

Well, we may be late to the party for this one, but, one thing can be for sure, it’ll still be raining where this duo hail from, and that, possibly, as well. Glasgow has always had a strong tradition of country and Americana, and this duo have been plying that torch and twang for some time, this release their third. Duo and acoustic heart are both slightly disingenuous here, mind, as it is, by and large, a full band outing, and, even if their hearts are acoustic, so some of the instrumentation suggests otherwise . Based around husband and wife, Claire McArthur Bain, on vocals, and Paul Bain, on vocals and guitar, here they are joined by a veritable West End Ol’ Opry of additional players, the material benefiting from that expanse of talent. Furthermore, rather than just offering a transplanted slice of Nashville or Bakersfield, there are some surprising sounds that stem a little more closer to home. Sounds intriguing, eh?

Strummed guitar, banjo and a sawing fiddle opens Play It Loud, song number one. When Claire Bain opens her mouth, it is with a tone that is just the right side, the earthier side, of Dolly Parton. Closely clipped drums provide the percussion and it is a decent taster for their style. Some harmonica and a bubbly bassline lift it from being overly formulaic, and it keeps the needle in situ. There are a host of additional musicians credited for the album, but I feel it is Fraser Speirs, the extravagantly moustachioed journeyman harmonica man represented here. Paul Bain picks up the vocal for Day In The Sun, an already edgier sounding song, set to guitar and mandolin, Claire adding her harmony voice. Although it is acoustic, with bass and drums, it sounds not unlike a quieter track from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s output, if with a disarming Caledonian flavour seeping into the melody line.

My Whole World is a simple and effective ballad, handled by Claire, with care, some beguiling cello, from Wendy Weatherby, snucking in from the side, as it unwinds. Red Dress is then a swaying roustabout of brass, all goodtime honky tonk vibes, barrelhouse piano from Ian Duff, horns from Douglas West and Leon Horne. Speirs adds further tasty harmonica. Mr Bain starts on the vocals, before his wife chips in, adding charisma and contrast. My Drum, My Beat brings in some dobro, Dougie Stevenson, to the mix, picked guitar a balmy horizon for a slightly MexiCali meander, for which an accordion solo would be just dandy. In the absence of that, an entirely unexpected lurch into a pipe band snare drum pattern is curiously apt, as it takes over from the earlier congas.

Light The Fuse Up, the first of two “acoustic heart mixes,” starts with what sounds the whole band, guitars, fiddle, dobro, bass, drums and brass, this time with the accordion, also Duff, present, seeming at first to be an instrumental. But both Bains then strike up, in turn. The significance of any special mix is, I am afraid, a little lost on me, but it is a lively track. However, this gives a moment to applaud the other players, with long time associate, Stevie Lawrence, picking up credits for acoustic guitar, bouzouki, mandolin and percussion. He is also the producer. Elsewhere, bass comes from Scott MacPherson, drums from John Alexander, with Philip Woodrow providing the ceremonial snare, mentioned before. Fiona Cuthil is the fiddle player and Tim Black plays banjo.

In Your Heart is a laid back and bare bones song, voice and guitars, a strummed dobro in there too, courtesy Claire. A real lighters in the sky anthem, it is hard not to sway as you listen, fiddle and lonesome harmonica adding the requisite gritting of your eyes. Run With Night then struts and strides out with a burst of choral acapella, some clip clop hand drums and a commercial hook that suggests a mix of Fleetwood Mac and Shania Twain. Not really my bag, this one, but accomplished, the trumpet adding a thoroughly respectable curveball. But then something changes everything, that being the uillean pipes of Catherine Ashcroft. Suddenly I am all over it. It is still rather too Nashville a song for me, but the pipes make it intensely better. Some explanation: when the Bains wrote and recorded this album, part the aim was to follow the inspiration offered by the Transatlantic Sessions, bringing together the best music of Nashville, Ireland and Scotland.

One Love is back to tears in your beer country balladeering, with strummed acoustics, actually one of the finer constructions on show, some swirly accordion a neat addition. Mandolin and bass work well together in a staccato coda, a trick worth remembering. These Tears Tonight has an almost bluebeat rhythm and possesses some of the most agile guitar here, these two points making it a further highlight, the mandolin and banjo a warming presence, meaning this recording carries a weight in its tale, that might catch out anyone flagging. With winsome slide and choral vocal harmonies, Writing On The Wall, a second “acoustic heart mix”, becomes a brisk and bluesy campfire rocker, adding further to that point. If another stonking Speirs harp solo seems to nail it, suddenly they are all taking a turn in the spotlight, Ashcroft then snatching the victory from his jaw, with a triumphant flail of her pipes.

That would have been a perfectly decent place to finish, but Raintown aren’t done, with a whistle garlanded, swapped vocal weepy to close it all up, lonesome fiddle and, yes, more pipes, for a perfect fusion of styles. Perfect. Thankful For It All it is called, and so am I.

Here’s an electric Writing On The Wall, a song they actually prepared some time earlier (thus explaining the acoustic heart mixes on the album, they each being older songs with a new spin).

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