Track Listing

1. The Burrian
2. Winter Moon
3. Horizontigo
4. Salty Boys
5. Banks of Marble
6. Stephen\x{2019}s
7. The Master
8. Frank and Flo\x{2019}s
9. Temple of Fiddles
10. Dear Prudence

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3141 in Music
• Released on: 2009-03-30
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

CD Description
Twice winners of Best Group at the Radio 2 Folk Awards (2008/2009), Lau are back with their highly anticipated second album, Arc Light. The follow up to their hit debut--Lightweights and Gentlemen, Arc Light is Lau at their very best. A collection of self-penned tunes and songs which highlights their unique take on folk music.

Highly regarded musicians in their own right, the combined talents of Kris Drever, Martin Green and Aidan O’Rourke make for a formidable and all-conquering trio. It is no surprise they were once again triumphant at this years BBC Folk Awards. Some songs from the new album have been showcased live at recent sell out shows in Tokyo and Glasgow’s Celtic Connections. Never off the road for long, Lau begin the Arc Light tour of the UK in early 2009.

Lau employ rising, epic song structures not usually associated with folk music and more akin to those on the leftfield of rock and jazz. The new album sees Kris Drever debut some of his own songs for the first time including the new radio single "Wintermoon", and there is a special Mojo commissioned Beatles cover as a bonus track on the first pressing of Arc Light.

Customer Reviews

Second/third album?
I bought this in advance from the Lau website which was sending it out a month in advance of the normal release. First 500 copies signed too - so if it's of any interest, Aidan has the best handwriting!
So this is the third album from Lau although only the second studio recording. A couple of the tracks first appeared on the Live album - Banks of Marble and Frank and Flo's and the bonus track (Dear Prudence) was on a Mojo cover-mounted CD of the White Album (well it was a two parter obviously).
I'm always reluctant to do reviews very early on (if you look most of my reviews are of things released years ago). I decided to make an exception here as there really is something special going on. I had heard a couple of the tracks when the band played Celtic Connections in January and there is definitely an increased confidence in what they are doing. This shows up well in the writing, with Winter Moon the first evidence of Kris Drever starting to come up with new songs. There are also some cracking new tunes - The Burrian, Horizontigo and The Salty Boys all favourites at this early stage.
There is some steel guitar on a few tracks and backing vocals from Karine Polwart, Inge Thompson (now married to Martin Green) and Corrina Hewitt.
If anyone had told me 10 years ago that my favourite band would consist of a fiddler an accordionist and an acoustic guitarist I would have laughed them out of the room!
Go and see them live, you won't regret it.

NOT Folk!
Arc Light is a big record, big melodies, big concepts and a big leap toward Lau being accepted into the mainstream as opposed to be viewed as a `folk' band and all the negative connotations that holds for the uninitiated.

Folk purists need not panic, there is plenty here for you to love and cherish as well. Arc Light is packed with innovation from the introduction of pedal steel guitar for the first time to the live qualities of production.

Kris Drever's vocals have moved on again from the first two records and seem to indicate a greater confidence in his own ability and rightly so. Winter Moon and Banks of Marble are both very worthy singles and full of hooks, I have played them over and over since getting the album. Horizontigo is a magical instrumental that reminds me of the glorious John Martyn track, Small Hours played at 45rpm as opposed to 33rpm.

Buy this record regardless of your musical tastes, you will not be disappointed.

Just drift away...
...is exactly what I do to Lau (with perhaps a little mental jig). Just magic.