James Lindsay: Strand

A strand may suggest a demarcation zone between elements, but also a constituent within a woven fabric, and in this richly-textured first album under his own name, bassist James Lindsay, perhaps best known for his work with the Highland band Breabach, meshes with a sterling squad of musicians from the folk and jazz scenes. The etherealsounding flute and fiddle (Hamish Napier and Adam Sutherland) of

Hebrides Terrace Seamount herald soundscapes that glisten with Fender Rhodes chimes from Tom Gibbs, underpinned by Scott Mackay’s drums and, of course, Lindsay’s bass. There are fine solos from guitarist Ben Macdonald – in The Silent Spring, for instance – and strathspey-like figures on Fender Rhodes in Forvie

Sands. Sutherland’s fiddle shrieks a climax to the sinister-sounding

Stacks, while Lindsay’s bass murmurs gently over glockenspiel tinkling in

UB85 and bows a wistful air in the concluding Beaufort’s Dyke. Mood, tone and tempo shift as constantly as the tide. ■