Out for the Night

Battlefield Band (no “The” in the name, as their publicists are quick to point out) have been performing together for more than three decades; this is their 20th album for Scotland’s Temple Records. The current lineup came together shortly before the release of their last album Time And Tide and has done considerable settling in during the year since. Singer/guitarist Pat Kilbride had been absent from the group for two decades and fiddler Alasdair White is young enough to be his fellow members’ grandson, but you’d never know it from the full, seamless sound of the instrumentals here – which include originals by White, by piper Mike Katz and by keyboard/accordion player Alan Reid. The songs are a mixed bag: Kilbride’s choice of Henry McCullough’s weird, rambling ‘Belfast To Boston’ seems ill-judged, but Reid’s performance of ‘The Earl of Errol’ and Kilbride’s electrifying live rendition of ‘Lord Randall’ are ample compensation.