Lung Capacity

Bands that play with smiles on their faces and tongues in their cheeks are often mistrusted by the brow-furrowing serious music fan. It's as if the combination of good humour and top musicianship are somehow mutually exclusive. So credit is due then to Orkestra del Sol for squaring this apparent circle with ease and class, their unforced flippancy never overshadowing some terrifically muscular playing.

Based in Edinburgh (their band's name is clearly ironic), theirs is a sound that swiftly deposits you into the Gypsy heart of Eastern Europe, where these Scots do an extremely passable impersonation of a freewheeling, hard-blowing wedding brass band. An anchoring sousaphone, spirited trumpets and spiralling clarinet instantly evoke a rural village in the full swing of celebration.

Outfits like Orkestra del Sol are so often done a disservice by the recording studio, which almost invariably fails to capture a fraction of their live performances. Not so here. Lung Capacity is a storming, relentless set that reproduces all the fire and energy of their full-blooded live excursions. On Lung Capacity's standout track, the robust stomp ‘This is Honkstep, there are undeniable echoes of ska, while the accordion-enhanced ‘El Malandro’ sounds like an Ozomatli instrumental. This ten-piece might draw on a horn-heavy lineage that includes Romania's Fanfare Ciocărlia, The Skatalites and the odd New Orleans brass band, but they're now in a position to rightfully take their own place in the same line. This is a record that's a formidable calling card. Concert promoters and festival bookers should pencil them in right now.