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TOM NAPPER and TOM BLISS -The Kelping
Slipjig Music SLIP008

Just under two years ago I reviewed ‘The Silverlode’, Tom’n’Tom’s debut CD as a duo. Having got things pretty well right, right from the start, ‘The Kelping.

follows a similar formula, mixing tune sets, traditional reworkings and Tom Bliss’s traditional-sounding own songs. His fierce affinity with the smaller of our British Isles is undiminished, with much of his inspiration drawn from tales of Scillies, Channel and Man.

They have obviously put in a great deal of legwork over the last two years, and their work has paid dividends – they now sound a lot more like a duo and a lot less like two blokes playing together, which ought to prove to us all the inescapable (but often unwelcome) fact that the more we practice, the better we get!

Both Toms display considerable talents on stringed instruments and vocals, enabling them to produce richly textured music, with Bliss’s occasional concertina and accordion adding extra richness to the mix, and there’s bodrhan pyrotechnics form Ciaron Boyle on three tracks. All in all an unusual and original choice of material, resulting in a highly satisfactory record.

I look forward to the Difficult Third Album with interest…

Alan Rose