The Burns Unit – Side Show(Independent)
I was lucky enough to see these at Cambridge Folk Festival this year and I was mightily impressed. On record they’re just as good. A supergroup of sorts, Emma Pollock was in The Delgados, Future Pilot AKA has released solo albums and was a member of BMX Bandits. King Creosote has been releasing albums for ages and MC Soom T has collaborated with heavy hitters The Orb and Asian Dub Foundation. The rest of the band, Karine Polwart, Kim Edgar, Michael Johnston and Mattie Foulds are all well respected or up and coming folk musicians and / or singer-songwriters. That’s quite a mix, and the danger is that it all becomes a little messy. Fortunately they’ve effortlessly swerved that particular pitfall and instead have released a record, which is resolutely indie, folky in the nicest possible way and cohesive throughout. Where they’ll find their audience, I’ve no idea, though the crowd was lapping it up at Cambridge, and I’m looking forward to seeing them in Leicester sometime soon. www.myspace.com/theburnsunitband
Rob F.
