Auprès du Poêle

The second album from the spirited Prince Edward Island-based acoustic power trio Ten Strings And A Goat Skin sees them upping their game even from the impressive Corbeau album. Brothers Rowen and Caleb Gallant, on violin and percussion, have been playing together with pal Jesse Périard on guitar since school days and, reflecting the acclaim their live performances had been attracting for years, there was very much of a live feel to their debut album. Here, recording in Québec under the guiding hand of producer Leonard Podolak of The Duhks, they’ve consciously taken a more considered approach, although the somewhat more precise arrangements on Auprès du Poêle (Around the Woodstove) are never allowed to detract from the fiery power of their music.

Prince Edward Island's rich musical heritage of Celtic and Francophone elements inspires them but, significantly, so too do more contemporary sensibilities. Caleb Gallant's ‘The Town’, a lament for the decimation of small communities, has the feel of a classic-in-waiting, while ‘Maudit Anglais’ boasts scintillating harmonies from Québécois alt-folk favourites Les Poules à Colin. Their version of Oysterband's ‘Coal Not Dole’ is also forceful, despite having stayed up all night before recording in order to figure out their own arrangement of the track, one of Podolak's personal favourites.